Legacy of the Sith
by p.c. andrews
Summary: Vader has learned how to use the midiclorians to create and sustain life, and he brings ObiWan back from the netherworld. The final TWO chapters have been posted! Rejoyce!
1. A Terrible New Power

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I don't own Ewan McGregor either._

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 1: A Terrible New Power

_It's tormented me for years. I had begun to doubt Palpatine, until I saw for myself, this very day, that he was right! One could, using the Dark Side of the Force, manipulate the midiclorians to create life, sustain it, and save it from leaving the body!_

Darth Vader watched from behind his inscrutable black mask as the rebel prisoner writhed before him, hovering between life and death. Vader drew in more of the Force; the darkness of it made everything in the room blacken slightly. He visualized the midiclorians in the prisoner's cells. They too filled with the Force, and formed actual hooks which in turn anchored the man's soul inside the body. He stopped the flow. The hooks didn't move. The man gasped for breath, his pain made him shudder uncontrollably.

With a grim satisfaction, Vader performed the Force choke that he'd perfected years ago; it had become his trademark. The prisoner grasped at his neck, as if trying to undo the invisible hands crushing his trachea. With a twist of his lips under his mask, Vader tightened the grip, until the man stopped breathing. The midiclorian hooks unlatched. Vader watched with his Force darkened eyes as the man died.

His body lay at Vader's boots. He began drawing in the Force once again. How much would be needed depended on the subject he was dealing with. Weak material like this prisoner would not take much effort to recapture and put back into the body. The voice of what Palpatine told him all those years ago now resounded in Vader's mind: _The Dark Side is the path to many powers that some would consider unnatural._ The man's body began to breathe. His heart began to beat again. "Drewson!" Vader boomed. The terrified man stared at Vader. He surely recognized who he was, where he was, and what was happening to him. Vader's grim smile deepened.

* * *

Many would have called it a rampage. First, Vader had Force choked Admiral Ozzel after coming out of hyperspace too close to the Hoth system. He had plunged _Executor_ deep into an asteroid field, just to chase a small freighter that supposedly was carrying a few very important rebels, including some poor fellow named _Skywalker._ Then, he hired a dozen bounty hunters to find the ship when, by some miracle, it didn't get pulverized. One of the boutny hunters had tracked the ship to the planet Bespin, where Vader created a terrible trap for his prey. After Skywalker _again_ eluded Vader, everyone around the Dark Lord of the Sith tread so lightly that barely a breath could be heard on the flagship Star Destroyer where Vader lurked on the observation deck, staring off into space. Vader when he was "normal" was frightening enough, but to see him this driven, the sheer terror of it was making the officers on the ship tremble.

It was true. His mood was not good lately. His son, Luke Skywalker, had spurned him. But he could not give up!

It was on one of those dark days, when the Darth prowled the Star Destroyer, brooding over Luke Skywalker yet again, that he had a visitor. An unexpected, unwelcome, but ultimately pivotal visitor. This visitor didn't need to reach the ship on a shuttle craft. He was even able to drop in while the entire fleet was in hyperspace. And when he arrived, only Vader knew it.

_"Kenobi..."_ Vader growled through his mask as soon as he sensed it. The seething hatred he had for his former teacher felt as strong as it was the day he was left, mutilated and dying, on a cliffside on Mustafar. He'd wanted revenge, and it would have seemed on the day that he killed, yes, _killed_ Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Death Star, that he would have gotten it. But he _hadn't!_ All he'd managed to do was allow Obi-Wan to enter the netherworld of the Force, where he now had abilities living people never had. Like the ability to board Star Destroyers in hyperspace without shuttles.

Vader waited until he was alone. No doubt, if he were seen talking to what was essentially a ghost, the crew would really think he'd cracked his helmet. Of course, none of them understood the Force; none of them knew of the netherworld, where those who knew how could apparently retain their identities indefinitely. It made no difference where in the ship Vader retreated, as long as he was alone. Obi-Wan Kenobi's spirit was certainly able to follow.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi!" he finally said. "You are indeed a fool to come before me now."

"And you are more a fool for pursuing Luke. He will not be turned to the Dark Side, Vader." Obi-Wan's spectre was blue-hued, wearing the very same expression he wore when used to give Anakin Skywalker lectures years ago. To Vader's eyes, he was not the old man who had come after him years later on the Death Star. He was still the same Jedi Master who had hacked him apart on Mustafar...

"I will not give up on my son." Vader balled his fists; his greatest fears could come to fruition, and all Obi-Wan could do is stand there and rub it in.

"Your thoughts betray you. Deep down, you must know that he will not turn as you did. I warn you now, leave Luke alone. No good can come of this quest!" the spectre of Obi-Wan argued.

"How did you think you would be able to hide my children from me indefinitely? You took advantage of the fact that I was unaware that there were twins. Yes, I can sense your surprise; you thought I only knew about Luke, but I've known about my daughter for years; you should not have allowed Padmé to name our daughter Leia, and you certainly should never have allowed Bail Organa to keep that name!

"While my master knows nothing of Leia, since only Padmé and I knew that my mother's middle name was _Leia,_ I made the connection immediately. The only reason my master knows of Luke is because he has his full name: Luke Skywalker! Sloppy work for someone like you; I would have expected better!" Vader spat.

Obi-Wan's ghostly form hitched his robes irritably. "Since you've known this for so long, I'm shocked you allowed Leia to stay with Bail Organa after you found out the truth. Why?"

Vader now hitched his cape. "As I said, my master knew nothing of Leia. I preferred it that way."

"So you don't trust Palpatine after all..." Obi-Wan remarked.

"I _will_ gain my son's trust! He _must_ finish his training! His life depends on it; Palpatine knows about Luke!"

"Luke made a choice to go after you. I don't know if he will ever go back for the remainder of his training. His attachments to his friends and his sister are too strong," Obi-Wan commented.

"It is only his attachments to his friends and his sister that make his life worth living. Someone like _you_ would never understand something like that! I suppose you think you're better off in this form, don't you? Able to zap yourself, such as you are, anywhere you wish! Able to see into places that mere mortals cannot go except possibly through deep meditation. And you don't have to worry about attachments in the netherworld, do you?" As he spoke, Vader began to wonder, _could I do it? It would be poetic justice if I could..._

"I can sense the Force starting to flow though you. I can't see why you're bothering; it's not like you can _do_ anything to me here, when I'm like this..." Obi-Wan smiled.

Vader latched his consciousness onto the rage he felt towards Obi-Wan. He broke up his family, he tore his life apart. And now, he comes to him, smug in the thought that he was beyond reach... "Obi-Wan, you always thought you were so smart. Have you ever heard of the Darth who could manipulate the midiclorians to create life? Probably not; it's a Sith legend, not fit for a decent Jedi's ears, I suppose."

"Manipulate the midiclorians? Who would do something so freakish? And to what purpose?" Obi-Wan sniffed.

"Yes, manipulate the midiclorians. I can do it, you know. And I'm going to, just so you can learn a lesson, that maybe, you're not as smart as you think!" Vader unleashed the Force flow from him. It swirled around Obi-Wan's spirit form, like a whirlwind that curled itself around every limb, ensnaring him.

_"What is this?"_ Obi-Wan called out in a strangled voice.

Vader didn't answer. He had to concentrate on using the Force. He allowed it to flow freely through him, he only guided it, like a rushing river followed the earth's curves to the ocean. The Force linked with the midiclorians within Obi-Wan's spirit form, and made it solidify, flesh out...Cells began to grow, melding together into hands, feet... Once Vader was done with his monstrous deed, the swirls of the Force dissipated, and Obi-Wan dropped to the ground.

For a moment, not a sound but Vader's metallic breath could be heard. But then, Obi-Wan drew in oxygen, like it was a slightly forgotten reflex. He breathed again. Then, the sound of his growing scream echoed through the empty lower deck.

Vader smiled grimly behind his mask. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Obi-Wan Kenobi!" On the metallic floor was Obi-Wan Kenobi on his hands and knees, staggered by the fact that he was now alive again. The same vibrant blue eyes stared up at Vader, the same ginger-red hair cut nearly to his shoulders, the same beard he'd decided to start growing when he hit thirty years old...

"How _dare_ you do this to me?" the Jedi Master snarled like a wounded beast. "This is not the will of the Force!"

_"DON'T TELL ME ABOUT THE WILL OF THE FORCE! IF THIS WERE NOT THE WILL OF THE FORCE, IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!"_ Vader boomed.

Obi-Wan's eyes went wide. Vader began a Force push, but Obi-Wan blocked it with his own. Vader's power pounded against Obi-Wan's, trying to knock him over. It was all Obi-Wan could do to stay on his knees, shaking with the effort. Finally, he broke down, and his newly reformed body went flying across the empty cargo hold.

A few seconds later, he saw Vader looming over him again. "That was quite impressive. You seem to be more powerful than you've ever been. It's just unfortunate for you that my power has increased nearly ten fold since you last taught me any lessons, my old master. That is how I was able to snatch you from the netherworld to do my bidding. And you _will_ do as I say, Obi-Wan, won't you?"

Obi-Wan leaped back up, enraged, glaring at his former student. He could almost visualize Anakin's once handsome face behind the mask, now scarred, staring him down. Vader had his lightsaber out in a flash of red light. Obi-Wan bravely stood his ground and asked him, "Are you going to kill me again?"

Vader began to shake with barely contained rage. "Kill you? So you could dash off and I'll never find you again? No, I don't think so. Perhaps I'll do to you what I should have done in our last duel; do to you what you had done to me!" Vader raised his lightsaber, and it took every bit of Obi-Wan's courage to remain still as he stared at the red light shining in his face. He had no lightsaber of his own; he would not be able to defend himself very well if Vader chose to make good on his threat. All he could do is remember Padmé's last words to him as she lay dying. _There's still good in him, Obi-Wan, this I know..._

Darth Vader was completely capable of cutting down a defenseless man. So why was he shaking so badly? Why was he lowering the lightsaber slowly, why was his head hanging in defeat? Obi-Wan clenched his own hands to keep the weakness after the adrenaline rush from taking over. Vader grabbed him by the neck of his Jedi robes and dragged him to his masked face. "Make no mistake, my former mentor, that things have definitely changed. I am no longer the little padawan that called you 'Master.' Now, you call me 'Master,' because you are mine, Kenobi," Vader growled into his ear as he pushed Obi-Wan down to the floor again. "I alone will determine whether you live or die now."

"I do not fear death, as you well know," Obi-Wan reminded Vader.

"No doubt, you'd probably welcome it. But as I said, I alone control it. Therefore, if you get any foolish notions about taking your own life in order to rejoin the netherworld before I say so, just know this. It will not turn out well for you, for now, until _I_ release you, your spirit will be trapped inside your dead body. It will not be allowed to leave; you will witness yourself rotting, smell the death and decay of your own flesh, fully aware of the excruciating pain of it!" At Obi-Wan's expression of horror, Vader began to laugh.

_"No!_ Even you are not capable of such cruelty. I know you are not!" Obi-Wan gasped.

"Do not speak to me of cruelty!" Vader spat. "Not you!"

"But, what if I were to get killed accidentally? What if someone else killed me?" Obi-Wan asked in desperation.

Vader laughed again. "Well then, you had better make damned sure you don't die, hadn't you?" he said lightly, cruelly. He rose from the floor and turned his back to Obi-Wan, who remained on his knees.

"You mentioned that you could free me. When will you do this?" Obi-Wan asked carefully.

Vader glanced behind him, and said, "Hmmm... perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps never. As I've said, it would be whenever _I_ say." Then he turned around and added, "Perhaps when you realize that I have the upper hand here, Obi-Wan, and you are in no position to make any demands of me! Perhaps when you understand that you are no longer a Jedi Master, but a servant of the Force!"

"What must I do so that you'll free me?" Obi-Wan asked with dread.

"Fear not, Obi-Wan; it's not nearly as odious a task as you might believe. I am sending you to find Luke Skywalker for me. And when you find him, _you_ will complete his training," Vader told him.

"But, I thought for certain that you would wish to be to be one who trains him. Why, of all people, would you pick _me?"_ Obi-Wan asked in confusion.

"Obi-Wan, for better or worse, Luke trusts you. He trusts you at least as much as I ever did, perhaps even more. He does not trust me. I could never accomplish with him in the relatively short span of time what you would be able to do. As much as I hate the fact, I must be practical so that he will be safe," Vader explained. "I know exactly why you never trained him before now. You were afraid, as you still are, that if you were to train him, that he will turn to the Dark Side, as I did."

"Please don't make me do this! Luke has so much goodness in him, just as you once did, and I cannot bear the thought of destroying that in him as I surely have in you," Obi-Wan pleaded.

"Nonsense, you were a fine teacher. I learned very well from you. Surely, if you were a good enough teacher for me, you will be good enough for my son!" Vader took out his lightsaber and twirled it impressively in one of the most complicated manuevers that Obi-Wan Kenobi had ever taught him. Around his head, swirling around his back, several times, then ending held with right arm tucked back by his helmet, lightsaber pointed forward, left hand pointed out.

Impressive to untrained eyes perhaps..."You forgot something. Do that again," Obi-Wan claimed, rising to his feet.

_"What?"_ Vader gasped. He took one look at Obi-Wan's expression, that oh-so-familiar look of scrutiny, the tightening of the lips, the drawn down brows. He puffed with annoyance, did the manuever again, and growled when he saw Obi-Wan shaking his head, "Alright, fine then! _You_ do it, if you're so smart!"

Obi-Wan took Vader's lightsaber. For a split second, it struck Obi-Wan how trusting Vader still was. Or was he so secure in his powers now that even if Obi-Wan were to start attacking, he would be able to stop him? Rather than test it, Obi-Wan took another deep breath, then began the manuever. Just as Qui-Gon Jinn had taught him, and no doubt, it was just as Count Dooku had taught Qui-Gon how to do it, Obi-Wan Kenobi performed the move flawlessly. He'd been remiss with Anakin--he was forgetting the three turns up, down, up, down, up and down once more, then making the turn to the right. "Did you see the part you forgot?" Obi-Wan asked him.

"Yes, I did," Vader sniffed with a toss of his head.

Obi-Wan frowned at the attitude. "I suppose in a way it is a good thing the Jedi aren't around any longer; I'd be a laughingstock! I can't even teach you a simple manuever; how do you expect me to train Luke?"

"I know how to do the manuever, and it's _not_ a simple one! I'm just rusty, that's all. It's not like I have Mace Windu around to impress anymore. Last I saw him, he was flying out a 175th story window. So much for him," Vader reported bitterly. "So much for the entire Jedi Council! I don't suppose you've seen any other Jedi around in the netherworld, have you?"

Obi-Wan's newly recreated heart began to pound in terror. _Qui-Gon!_ He must not let this mad monster know about Qui-Gon... Obi-Wan's hand tightened on Vader's lightsaber, and he switched it on again, poised to strike. But, Vader's breath grew into a cruel laugh. He used the Force to pull his lightsaber from Obi-Wan's hands, then started the Force choke on Obi-Wan's throat.

"Your thoughts betray you, Obi-Wan! You wish to protect the one who taught you how to retain your identity in the netherworld! It's a pity you won't be rejoining him anytime soon..." he laughed as he slowly crushed. "Who is it, Obi-Wan? Yoda? No, Yoda's still alive! That's who has been training Luke, isn't it?" Obi-Wan felt the grip loosen slightly, so he nodded emphatically, not wanting to anger Vader anymore.

Vader felt a mild bit of surprise. Yoda was still alive! He'd make certain that he confronted the old Jedi Master before long. But back to the business at hand. "Then it certainly must be the only person in this galaxy that you would endure hell itself for; your old Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn..." He released Obi-Wan's throat completely.

In sheer desperation, Obi-Wan threw himself at Vader's feet. "Please, if you have even a tiny bit of decency left in you, you will leave Qui-Gon Jinn in peace! I swear to you, I will do whatever you wish, if you leave him alone!"

Vader picked Obi-Wan up from where he was kneeling. "Excellent! What my Sith master taught me was true; in securing victory, it's only a matter of finding what will compel your enemy to yield. You will leave as soon as we get to Coruscant. When we arrive there, I will arrange your immediate departure."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "How will I be getting to Luke? I don't even know where he is, do you?"

"I will be providing a ship for you to search for Luke, travel wherever either of you need to go...As for where he is," Vader turned to face Obi-Wan, "that's the easy part. He will be looking to rescue his friend, Han Solo. From what I understand, you've made the smuggler's acquaintence? He's a person of some interest, as it turns out. Wanted by Jabba the Hutt."

"That would mean Tatooine..." Obi-Wan murmured. Not only was he _alive_ again, he was going back to Tatooine, the planet of his twenty year exile. _But this time, it will be different,_ Obi-Wan consoled himself. This time, he'd be training Luke. If he began to have trouble, he could take the boy back to Yoda, Obi-Wan told himself. Yes, that was what he'd do. He wondered if Vader was sane enough anymore to realize that the Jedi Order could be resurrected by his son. Now that would be true justice...


	2. A Wretched Hive

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 2: A Wretched Hive

He'd never thought he'd be wandering the streets of Mos Eisely again. Of course there were many things that Obi-Wan Kenobi thought he'd never be doing anymore. _Just as long as Master Qui-Gon is safe from Vader's twisted schemes, then I will endure this as well..._ It was late at night, the air chilly, but the streets were not as empty as one would have thought they would be. Most of the cantinas were still open; and Obi-Wan was feeling the first stirrings of hunger he'd had in three years. Not that the cantinas ever really offered anything much more edible than nuts to go with the drinks, but it was still something.

He had arrived earlier in the day, in a small, sleek ship that Vader had provided him. Vader had given him back his old lightsaber; he'd kept it as a trophy after killing him three years ago. The credit card that Vader had also given him sat in his pocket. Obi-Wan frowned at the thought of it; Vader had specifically told him to "spare no expense" getting to Luke Skywalker. This was not the way he'd done things in the past; the Jedi had taken a vow of poverty when they became Knights. He wasn't used to spending money.

As he drifted into the very same cantina he'd gone to the last time he'd been trying to get passage off Tatooine, three years ago, Obi-Wan shivered. The same bartender served, but the place seemed even more crowded than it had been that fateful day, when he'd come here with Luke Skywalker and those two droids that the Empire had been so desperate to find. Obi-Wan quietly sat down at the circular bar, waiting for the bartender to notice him. A rough crowd of swoopbikers slowly surrounded him. One of the nearest was dressed in leather and tattoos and smelled as gamey as a Jawa. The bartender turned and saw them, and scowled at Obi-Wan. He shrugged helplessly, trying not to gag.

"Don't think that beard fools us! Coloring your hair won't hide you from us, either. You're dead, Skywalker..." the leathered, tattooed fellow grunted in his ear.

Obi-Wan's eyes flew open. Why did this fellow think he was Luke? His hand automatically fell on his lightsaber. Of course, Obi-Wan realized quickly; this moron had seen it and thought of Luke. "Are you going to try and kill me just by smelling like you do?" Obi-Wan asked half-seriously. In Obi-Wan's experience, there was nothing better than a nasty comment to get things on a roll.

His stinky adversary reached for Obi-Wan's face, trying to knock him off his barstool. Almost instantly, Obi-Wan leaped up over their heads and grabbed onto a beam on the cieling. From there, he kicked one man's blaster out of his hands and caught another one's head with his feet and twisted, breaking the man's neck. Then he dropped back down, igniting the lightsaber immediately which made the rest of the swoopbikers back off. "Perhaps you'd care to take this outside?" Obi-Wan offered.

"Put those blasters away now! I don't want trouble in here, stranger!" the bartender yelled at Obi-Wan. The other bikers, various species and sizes, but none under two meters tall, closed ranks and ignored the bartender. Obi-Wan had rather hoped that the other innocent patrons had enough sense to leave, but they seemed transfixed.

His bright blue lightsaber hummed ominously as he planted his feet on the cantina floor and held the Jedi weapon at the ready. The bikers were armed with chains, clubs, and of course, blasters. Not to mention there were about twenty of them. One of them began to swing his chain, and Obi-Wan cocked an eyebrow, smiling grimly.

As soon as the goon let the chain fly, Obi-Wan dropped to the ground and began rolling, slicing with the lightsaber. Any foot, tail or lower leg in his path was soon severed from its respective owner. He spun there as panicky blaster shots rained down, dodging each one. Soon, the screams of each injured biker began to fill the cantina. Obi-Wan rolled back onto his feet, but remained in a crouching position, as if bowing after doing his deadly dance.

One of the few uninjured bikers took the chain and flung it at Obi-Wan's eyes. He grit his teeth, caught the chain in midair, and looped the slack around the biker's wrists in one movement so swift that no one except Obi-Wan himself knew he'd done it. He pulled the biker toward him, and impaled him on the lightsaber.

This move seemed to make the others come to their senses, and decide that this job, however big the bounty was, wasn't worth the price. Some of them ran out of the cantina outright, others were a little slower about it, trying to save face. Obi-Wan's eyes fixed on a straggler, a (somewhat) smaller T'wilek on all fours, trying to crawl out. The Jedi caught up with him before he was able to make it out the front door. "Who put the contract out on Skywalker?" Obi-Wan demanded in a low voice, ignoring poeple passing them on the way in and out.

"I don't know! I swear, I don't! Jabba the Hutt had heard that you were a 'person of interest.' There are bounties out for you dead, and bounties out for you to be delivered alive, and everything in between! Jabba thought that a bounty to collect on you dead would be easier."

"Surely Jabba the Hutt has some ideas about who is offering these bounties. I'm sure he told you something..." Obi-Wan said slowly, waving his fingers before the T'wilek's frightened face.

The mind trick did it's work. "Jabba had a meeting with someone on Coruscant recently. Prince Xizor. He spoke about you. And everyone knows who _he_ is..." the young T'wilek biker whined.

"Let's just assume I'm really stupid and don't know who Prince Xizor is. Tell me," Obi-Wan commanded.

"He runs a huge shipping empire, but it's just a front. He's the head boss of Black Sun. Any idiot knows that!"

"Perhaps, though if I were you, I wouldn't be calling anyone else an idiot unless you're prepared to call yourself one, since I'm not Luke Skywalker anyway," Obi-Wan informed him.

"No, you certainly aren't," a voice said coolly from behind him. Obi-Wan gasped when he felt what surely was a blaster barrel pushed against his back. Seeing his chance, the T'wilek scurried off. "Don't make any sudden moves, or you're going to get your entire chest vaporized," the person behind him threatened. Obi-Wan slowly raised his hands, but despite his situation, he had a smile on his face.

"Young Luke, your skills have improved dramatically since I last saw you. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you again," Obi-Wan said emphatically.

"That's a rather odd thing to say, since you're not even looking at me." The blaster was lowered, and Obi-Wan turned around. Indeed, it _was_ Luke Skywalker who had caught him off guard. "You seem familiar, but I'm sure I've never seen you before," Luke remarked.

Obi-Wan nodded absently, since he was expecting that Luke wouldn't know him. Obi-Wan was restored to looking like he did during the Clone Wars, not like crazy old Ben Kenobi. Should he just tell Luke the whole story? The Force would guide him, Obi-Wan decided. Speaking of which... "Luke, where is your lightsaber?" he asked reproachfully.

"In case you haven't noticed, this particular bartender doesn't like to see lightsabers hanging around. Makes him nervous," Luke muttered. Obi-Wan's expression didn't change, but he noted, wryly, that Luke was getting rather good at giving non-answers, one of the many Jedi skills they didn't teach you at the Temple. "Now, if you'd tell me who you are, and why you had to start something in here just as soon as I turned around to go to the refresher, I'd be grateful."

"As far as starting something, these people were here to kill you. I do apologize for not leaving any for you," Obi-Wan quipped.

They left the cantina, but Luke still had the blaster in hand. "I'll let it slide this time. You still haven't told me who you are."

Obi-Wan stared into Luke's eyes. "Luke, nearly four years have passed since we've been face to face, but you have seen me. In fact, you've just seen me on Dagobah..."

Luke could not hide his startled look. "I never saw you on Dagobah. I would have remembered you. There was only one human on that entire planet: me!"

"Luke, please, listen to me. You did see me on Dagobah. You saw me on Hoth, as well. You've heard my voice in your mind many times during the past few years. I was there when you destroyed the Death Star. I was there during the Battle of Hoth, and I was there while Yoda trained you. I've been watching over you for many years, Young Luke. It's just that, now, you see me differently. You don't see me as an old hermit in the Jundland Wastes. You don't see me as a ghost either, not now."

To Obi-Wan's dismay, Luke held the blaster back up again. "This isn't even remotely funny, you know. There is no way you could be who you're claiming you are! Did Darth Vader send you?" Luke hissed.

Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably, and admitted, "Actually, your father _did_ send me. He seized me from the netherworld of the Force to help you complete your training, Luke." Luke dropped the blaster because his shock at the words coming from this man's mouth were too close, too impossible. His _father,_ Darth Vader! Somehow, now that the words came from this man's mouth, Luke needed to allow it into his consciousness. He couldn't keep fooling around, denying the truth. Darth Vader was his father!

And now, if this man was to be believed, his father had brought his old Jedi Master back from the dead! "It can't be..." Luke stammered, shaking his head. "How can he do such a thing?" He had to sit down on the edge of a landspeeder to keep from falling further. _"Obi-Wan?"_ Luke breathed.

Obi-Wan bowed his head in acknowledgement. Luke thought wildly through his shock that there must be some way to prove to himself that this person before him was the real deal. If he could ask him some questions, things that only Ben Kenobi would have known...

"It's just that, ever since that time that Jansen and I had taken up that dare to go and touch the side of your house," Luke started, waiting to see this man's reaction.

"Jansen? I don't recall you having a childhood friend named Jansen. However, I do remember Biggs Darklighter very clearly, especially his backside as he ran off, leaving you in my terrifying clutches," Obi-Wan corrected him dryly.

Luke felt the hope rising in his heart, but he didn't tip his hand just yet. "I remember Uncle Owen's face when you pulled up at the farm with me that day."

"But Luke, I never had a landspeeder. It was your Uncle Owen who took his landspeeder all the way out to the Jundland Wastes after I called him to pick you up," he smirked.

With that, Luke knew that Obi-Wan knew what he was up to. "The Force is truly with us; you're back! This is the most wonderful thing that has happened since... I can't even say!"

Obi-Wan sighed sadly, which surprised Luke greatly. "Is it truly wonderful, Luke? Is this really the will of the Force?"

Luke gave him a sharp glare. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, this galaxy needs the Jedi Order more desperately than it ever has. We have never needed you more than right now! I need you now, and thought it's weird beyond belief that my...my father...has done this miraclous thing, I know that it _is_ the will of the Force. Yoda will be thrilled too!"

"I'm not so certain of that, young Luke! Oh, Luke, none of this was ever your fault. You are innocent in this, but what your father has done to me is nothing short of an abomination!" With that, Obi-Wan began to feel weak. "Damn, I forgot to eat. I didn't get a chance in there..."

Luke grabbed Obi-Wan by the shoulders and led him to the landspeeder he'd been leaning on, pushing Obi-Wan into the passenger side seat. "Come on, let me help you out. You mean you haven't eaten since..."

"I haven't eaten, slept, or done any other life processes in at least three years. And I'm beginning to feel it, as well!" Obi-Wan grumbled, slumping in the seat as Luke hopped into the driver's seat and took off. Luke pulled into one of the many drive-thru fast food places that were starting to pop up all over Tatooine. Obi-Wan refused to eat any meat, but fortunately, there were other things on the menu that Luke could and did order, despite the Jedi's protests. After that, Luke started heading for the Jundland Wastes.

It was a fairly long trip from Mos Eisley, so he and Obi-Wan had plenty of time to talk. "I hope you don't mind that I've been hanging out at your old house since I've gotten back here, Obi-Wan," Luke said.

"Not at all! I was hoping that the old place was still standing," Obi-Wan answered. "How did you find it's condition?"

"Not bad. The Sandpeople were still afraid that you'd come back, so they steered clear of the place, I assume. We've got the place stocked up with food and stuff. Right now, it's just me and Artoo. But since Han Solo--you remember him right? Since he was given over to Boba Fett, who's going to bring him to Jabba the Hutt, we've been on and off Tatooine. At one point, it was me, Leia, Chewie--I think you might remember him too--and Han's old gambling pal, Lando Calrissian. And of course, Artoo and Threepio! But everybody's off world again, and I'm left abandoned yet again!"

"I suppose there's not a chance that you would consider going back to Dagobah?" Obi-Wan asked.

Luke was silent for a moment. Then he said, "I want to go back to Yoda, really I do. It's just that I can't concentrate on my training while Han is in trouble. He's been a good friend to me. I think I should try to return the favor."

_This is why Vader is having me train Luke,_ Obi-Wan thought grimly. He was more portable than Yoda, always was. And Luke, like his father, was always on the move. "What about after Han Solo is recovered?" Obi-Wan pressed.

"I can understand if you want to get back to Yoda. You don't think--does my father know about Yoda?" Luke suddenly asked fearfully.

"Yes, and I can't guarantee that he won't try to find Yoda. I don't think he knows precisely where Yoda is, but don't worry, Luke. Yoda is capable of handling Vader. And I think your father might be too busy to drop everything to go and find him right now anyway. He's much more interested in keeping you out of danger. And from what I saw tonight, I can understand why."

"What, you mean those thugs in the Mos Eisley cantina? Yeah, I've been getting a bit of that lately. Well, maybe not just a bit. A lot. But still, my father shouldn't have bothered you just to babysit me," Luke frowned. He was getting the impression that Obi-Wan was not at all happy about being alive again.

"Luke, I'm not here to babysit you. While we're here on Tatooine, I can teach you. I'm sure that no good purpose will come from trying to chase this bounty hunter all over the galaxy to get Solo back." Obi-Wan settled back in the seat while Luke drove. He was feeling sleepy, and was grateful that he didn't have to drive himself. He was getting an unpleasant feeling though, at the same time. He might just need to use the refresher. Oh, the joys of living!

Luke glanced at Obi-Wan shifting around in his seat. "You alright? Oh, let me guess, you need the refresher, right? Don't worry, it's not too much longer. Just remember to wash your hands afterwards," Luke quipped, then added, "Sorry!" when he saw Obi-Wan's sour expression.

"Wonderful! It appears that you've inherited your father's ability to speak wiseass. Do you know what he said to me, before I left to go find you? He said that I need to remember that _I can't walk through walls anymore."_ Luke suppressed a smile, though it was difficult. He couldn't imagine Darth Vader ever cracking a joke. "He certainly knows how to dig the lightsaber in deeply!" Obi-Wan cried.

"Oh, boy! Was it really that great, being dead?" Luke asked.

"Luke! It wasn't like being dead! It was the most tremendous sense of freedom! I was so aware, even if I could not sense things with normal human living senses! There was no pain, no sense of constriction like you have in a body. This body to me is a great terrible trap!"

Luke couldn't think of anything else to say at that moment. For the rest of the ride, he remained quiet, and Obi-Wan fell silent as well, brooding, no doubt. At least Obi-Wan was glad to see his small house again. Artoo already had some lights on inside, so it appeared even more welcoming.

When they got inside the house, Luke noticed that his holo comlink was blinking. "Hmm... Who could this have been? Oh, it's Lando," he murmured. He turned on the comlink, and Lando's tiny hologram appeared.

"Luke, we've got a message from Chewie. Leia's mission on Coruscant hit a big time snag! He says she's being held captive by Prince Xizor. Naturally, he's beside himself. We're going to pick you up on Tatooine, Luke, and we've got to come up with a plan for rescuing her. We'll see you as soon as we get to Mos Eisely." And with that, Lando dissolved.

Luke smacked his forehead, and just then, Obi-Wan emerged. "What is it? Who was that?"

"That was Lando Calrissian. You're going to get to meet him soon; he's on his way to Tatooine with the _Falcon._ Princess Leia got herself in trouble, and it's all my fault, of course. You expect me to go to Dagobah? I don't have a dull minute anymore. I almost long for the days when I was bored to death working on vaporators!" Luke snapped.

"Please, Luke, tell that to someone who doesn't know you as well as I do! And how is Leia's getting herself into trouble your fault?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Okay, here's the deal. A few months ago, we've been starting to notice an increased number of attempts on my life. You know, more than the usual from the Empire. Now, I know for a fact that my father has bounties out on me also, but they are for me being alive and in perfect health. Most bounty hunters are lazy and just want whatever money they can get, and if its easier for them to get a bounty with me dead..."

"Then they'll kill you. Like they tried to do tonight. But Luke, one of them told me that Jabba the Hutt had sent them," Obi-Wan told him.

"Jabba doesn't want me for himself, Obi-Wan. He's much more interested in getting Han Solo. If Jabba wants me dead, it's only to collect the bounty on me dead. But we've been having trouble finding out who's been putting forth these bounties. So Princess Leia gets this wild hair up her...sorry, Obi-Wan. Anyway, she gets this idea to try and enlist Black Sun's spy network to find out who these people are..." Luke shook his head with helplessness.

"Luke, Black Sun is the one putting out these bounties for your death!" Obi-Wan told him. "The biker I'd been questioning earlier said that Jabba had met with Prince Xizor a few months ago. He must have known you'd be on Tatooine, and so dangled the bait in front of Jabba, just in case he managed to get anyone worthy of capturing and killing a Jedi Padawan!"

Upon hearing the word _Padawan,_ Luke's face lit up, and all his concerns seemed to disappear. "Yoda told me about Padawans, Jedi Learners. Is that what I'm going to be now? I'm going to be your Padawan! And that would be perfect; Yoda told me Padawans trained out in the field with their Jedi Masters! You and I could team up and rescue Princess Leia, and do stuff for the Alliance, and all the while, I'll be learning the ways of the Force!"

For all of Obi-Wan's forbodings about training Luke, he had to admit that Luke's enthusiasm was infectious. For the first time all that long day, Obi-Wan began to feel some lightness in his heart. Oh, if Luke would become a Jedi Knight, the wheels would be set in motion. The Jedi Order could return! That seemed to be all Luke ever wanted to accomplish in this life. He smiled, and Luke absolutely beamed. "Luke, are you really certain of this? Once you truly start down the path of a Jedi, going back is very difficult. Your life is going to be changed forever. And you will be in constant danger; that is why I will not have you adopt the official markings of the Jedi Padawan, namely, the braid. I don't think it would be the best idea to flaunt your training in front of the Emperor like that."

Luke was not even the least bit upset by this. "What do I have to do?"

"First of all, where is your lightsaber?" Obi-Wan asked for the second time that day.

"It's here! I've made a brand new one since I got here. I lost my father's old one at Bespin. See?" Luke opened up a secret compartment on Artoo and produced the new lightsaber. He ignited it, and Obi-Wan's heart lightened even more. It was green. _Just like Qui-Gon's._

"Well, I'm impressed! It takes an advanced Padawan to build his own lightsaber, Luke. You are not much farther along before you could call yourself a Knight. However, you must hand it to me, if we are to do this thing properly." Luke eagerly pressed the lightsaber into Obi-Wan's hand. "Now, stand here, facing me. Alright then," Obi-Wan took a deep breath. He never thought he'd be doing anything like this ever again, but the die has been cast. "Luke Skywalker, I, Obi-Wan Kenobi, take you on as my Padawan Learner." He handed Luke his lightsaber back. "May the Force be with us both." It was done, very simple, but profound, at least to Luke anyway, who looked as though his face shouldn't be able to hole a smile that big. Obi-Wan had to wonder if his own face looked like that when Qui-Gon took him on?

It probably did.


	3. Desperate Measures

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 3: Desperate Measures

Darth Vader stood at the brigde of _Executor_ with a comlink in his gloved hand. The private line, the one that he authorized only Obi-Wan Kenobi to use. He hasn't called yet, and this wasn't sitting too well with the Dark Lord. He knew that he'd landed on Tatooine, based on the credit account record that Vader had already checked through the Holonet. When would Obi-Wan find Luke? His old Jedi Master had better get a move on, Vader thought crossly. He of all people should know how impatient the Dark Lord of the Sith was.

It wasn't just his lack of communication from Obi-Wan that had him on edge. He'd been having those nightmares again: the ones where someone very close to him dies. First it happened to his mother, and then his wife. Now, he was dreaming about his son's death. The dreams had started on the very day that his master had told him that he knew about Luke's existence, and that the boy was to be brought to him, or he must die. Not long after that, Vader had noticed that there was an alarming number of bounties on his son's head, many of them wanting him dead.

Vader hadn't told his old Jedi Master any of this. No doubt, Obi-Wan was wondering just what he was about, sending him to help Luke complete his training. Especially since, unbeknownst to Obi-Wan, Palpatine had specifically forbidden that Luke become a Jedi. Well, Vader thought, to hell with him. _He will not lose his son._ Even if it meant bringing Obi-Wan back from the netherworld to save him. Nothing mattered now, except keeping Luke safe.

Perhaps Luke would train his twin sister in the ways of the Force? For reasons he didn't completely understand, he didn't want Obi-Wan anywhere near Leia. He hoped that someday, the two of them would be able to know who they really were. It would be preferable if he could tell them himself, though if his experience in Bespin was any example, maybe it would be better if he didn't.

He gazed out on the thousands of stars set before him. Just like possibilities, those stars. Vader had a feeling that someone was going to tip their hand, something was going to develop that would drastically change the rules of this dangerous game. Which player would it be? Prince Xizor, the Falleen Underlord of Black Sun, the most powerful crime syndicate in the Empire? If it was him, Vader mused, it would be by getting himself even more ingratiated with the Emperor, and trying to somehow unseat Vader as his right hand man. Normally, there would be virutally no chance of that, unless Xizor somehow shatters the Emperor's trust in him. It is a dangerous game played by an ignorant fool who knows nothing of the Sith.

Would it be the Emperor himself? With the construction of a new, improved Death Star close to completion, could he finally push the people of the galaxy too far? Could it lead to more people joining the Rebel Alliance, despite the imminent threat of destruction?

Would it be Luke? With his powers growing more and more every day, would he start getting ambitions to bring about some sort of Jedi Renaissance? That would not amuse the Emperor at all. Of course, if the boy turned to the Dark Side, it would depend upon who he sided with. Would the boy destroy him, and take his place as the Apprentice of Darth Sidious? Or, would the boy and his father join forces, defeat Palpatine, and become the new Master and Apprentice Sith Lords?

Or, could it be Leia? The Force was truly with him, that Palpatine knew nothing of Leia yet, but what if the Emperor found out about her? It wasn't likely; virtually no one ever suspected that Bail Organa had _adopted_ Princess Leia. Only Padmé and himself had known that Organa and his wife were having trouble conceiving. Oddly enough, when Vader visited them on Alderaan later on, and he knew, just from hearing the name _Leia,_ he knew that not only had Padmé not died when she was reported to have died, but that his daughter was alive, well, and loved. It pained him terribly to let her go, but he did, because he knew it was for her own good. He'd known the danger, even back twenty years ago, that his children would face if he had any. But now that Luke knew he was the son of Darth Vader, Leia eventually would have to be told that Luke is her twin brother.

What a damned mess his family was, Vader thought irritably. How much could he hope his children were going to understand why they were kept in the dark all these years? This dilemma made him think of Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the major perpetrators. No doubt, he was angry and resentful (to say the least) at Vader for bringing him back to the realm of the living. Who was to say that in turn, he would not get some kind of nasty revenge? Few people knew Obi-Wan as well as Vader did. And Vader knew, all too well, that Obi-Wan had long, sharp fangs and didn't hesitate to use them if he felt he had to. Vader only hoped that his threats of eternal torment and Qui-Gon's revival from the dead were enough to keep the once proud Jedi Master on a short enough leash.

_Of course,_ Vader mused, _he himself could be the one who tips the scales._ What if he managed to gain a potential Sith Apprentice? Stranger things _have_ happened. Would it be Luke? Leia? Or someone else entirely? Someone no one suspected, someone no one would ever have thought of? The idea was tantalizing, to say the least. _Why are these thoughts crossing my mind?_ he asked himself. Could he already have laid the groundwork for it without knowing? The Dark Side of the Force had so much potential, so many possibilities. If only Luke understood this. Ah, well, maybe someday, he would.

And, just as he glanced at the comlink for the umpteenth time, it beeped. Vader's heart skipped a beat. Obi-Wan's tiny holgram glowed in the palm of Vader's hand. "Yes," Vader answered softly.

"I thought you would like to have a report on my progress so far," Obi-Wan said almost as softly. Vader had to peer down at the image in order to hear him adequately. None of the officers on the bridge would give it a second thought that he was having a conversation on the comlink, but obviously, Obi-Wan was trying to keep things quiet on his end.

"Where are you?"

"Still on Tatooine, but not for long. I've made contact with Luke. And he has agreed to have me continue his training with him."

Vader's shoulders loosened abruptly, and he hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath. "That's excellent news! Was he excited?" Vader couldn't help asking.

"Oh, yes, quite excited. I only wish he weren't so excited..." Obi-Wan grumbled.

"I'm not even going to get into that argument with you again. You will train him, and I'm certain he will be the perfect learner that I never was."

"There's more. I had a run in with some low-lifes in Mos Eisely earlier. Not that there are anything but low-lifes in Mos Eisely anyway, but this was more serious than usual. They accidentally attacked me, thinking I was Luke. I'm certain that Jabba the Hutt sent them. It turns out that Jabba had paid a visit to Coruscant recently, to Prince Xizor. Do you know anything about him?" Obi-Wan asked.

_"That Falleen snake?_ More than I care to, I assure you. What did Jabba and Xizor have to talk about?" Vader growled.

"Search your feelings, my former Learner..." Obi-Wan led him.

_Luke!_ Vader thought suddenly. No wonder he'd been having those nightmares! "Are you saying that you know for certain that Black Sun who is threatening his life?" Vader asked.

"Not just to Luke, I'm afraid. We're going to Coruscant. On our very first mission as Master and Padawan..." Obi-Wan explained.

"Why?" Vader snapped.

"We can deal with this threat directly, rather than keep outrunning him. It's only a matter of time before one of these attempts is successful," Obi-Wan answered.

"Let me handle him!" Vader ordered.

"Vader, I warn you, don't get involved. Luke isn't so trusting of you just yet. Don't push so hard, like you always do. Let us handle this. Luke needs to learn, doesn't he?" Obi-Wan pointed out.

Vader just breathed in his usual ominous way, as though thinking it over. "There's something you're not telling me."

"Luke's powers increase, Vader. You underestimate him. Yoda has taught him well, so far. So let me now do the job you've assigned to me without interference, and we both will be most appreciative." And with that, Obi-Wan signed off. Vader grit his teeth. Like hell he was going to let Obi-Wan Kenobi order him around like he was still a Padawan himself!

Vader ordered the nearest officer, "Have my shuttle prepared. I have to make an emergency trip to Coruscant..."

Obi-Wan switched off the comlink. He'd just made a mistake, telling Vader that they were going to Coruscant. What was he thinking? Vader will be there before they got there. He must be very tired to make a slip like that... Well, at least he didn't know about Leia being Xizor's captive.

He wandered back into the docking bay where his ship, the _Phoenix,_ was being refueled. Luke and Obi-Wan would be taking Lando and Threepio to Coruscant in that ship, since the Millenium Falcon was probably on every "wanted" bulletin in the galaxy. Lando Calrissian would fly the ship, since Obi-Wan was still not crazy about flying it himself. Once they got to Coruscant, they would meet up with the desperate Chewbacca, and the Wookiee would show them where Leia was being kept. It was as simple as a plan could get. Of course, just like when Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia were held captive in Cloud City to lure Luke there, this was a very simliar scenario. At least Obi-Wan felt confident that his Padawan was well aware of Xizor's game. Having himself land into a trap would not help Leia one bit.

If Leia hadn't gone to Coruscant in her misguided attempt to protect Luke, she woulnd't have needed rescuing, obviously. Evidently, Vader's daughter was every bit as headstrong as her father. And her mother, for that matter. She could do with a few lessons in the ways of the Force herself, mainly to curb that impulsiveness, Obi-Wan thought impatiently. Ah, what to do with these Skywalkers! What a group! He was such an obedient Padawan Learner to his master! If only Master Qui-Gon had known how lucky _he_ was!

"You've got a mysterious look on your face, Master," he heard Luke comment as he came around to where Obi-Wan leaned against the wall facing the sleek _Phoenix._

"I was just thinking about how I'm going to have to set everyone straight around here, and what a task that's going to be..." Obi-Wan mused. He noted Luke's expression of mild confusion while following him aboard the ship.

_Sorry about the short chapter this time._


	4. Mission 1

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 4: Mission #1

_Thanks for all the reviews so far. At least this chapter's a little longer. And honest, there's more action in this chapter, but first, a little look into Leia's POV..._

Princess Leia sat trapped in the opulent suite that Prince Xizor had Guri first show her when she arrived at his palace. Leia had a bad feeling about Guri from the first time she'd met the blonde beauty; it turned out that Guri was not a human being at all, but a Human Replica Droid (or HRD for short). Very costly, she must have been. She was also exceptionally deadly. Her programming must have included loads of different martial arts styles, weapons training, maybe even combat training. All supposedly to protect her criminal master, but more likely to eliminate his enemies as well. Leia had no doubts that she was only being held in this opulent prison until Prince Xizor gets whatever he wants.

He'd invited her to take a bath with him earlier. As if! She thought with great amusement that there was at least one way to cool Xizor's ardor if she needed to. She could always tell him that she was Darth Vader's daughter!

Every time she thought of it, Leia recalled the manner in which she discovered the identity of her biological father. It was on the Death Star, while enduring a particularly harrowing interrogation. The Empire wanted to know the location of the Rebel Alliance's secret base. She was not as forthcoming as Darth Vader had hoped. And so, he brought in the interrogation device. The needle with the glitterstim spice went into her arm without delay. After all, Bail Organa, that beloved man who'd called her his own daughter for all her life, had taught her various means of evading the very kind of interrogations that Vader was employing before he'd resorted to the glitterstim. But with the expensive, powerful drug coursing through her system, her mind became more scrambled.

More open. More accepting...

It was during following round of questions that Vader, oddly enough, let it slip. His mind had been trying to link to hers for some time. She'd been resisting him as much as she could. But it was when he said (with a bit of a desperate tone), "Leia, you can tell me anything, I'm your father..." Her mind linked to his at that instant. Her mind readily accepted it. _Yes, Darth Vader _is_ my father, I can feel the truth of this._ He must have been affected by her thoughts running along this direction, and he faltered for just an instant. Her mind plowed right into his. She could see, for the first and only time, his blue eyes, his dark blond hair, his slightly sinister, but handsome face. And then she had slurred, "I never knew you were a blond fellow..." Needless to say, that ended the interrogation.

What had followed afterwards confirmed it for her. When her homeworld, Alderaan, was destroyed by the Death Star, no one, except perhaps her, noticed Vader's reaction. She could feel the absolute agony in his hand on her shoulder. Had the glitterstim still been in her system? Maybe, but she knew she still had a mind-connection to him. And it was hellish for the next couple of hours. Until Luke Skywalker burst into her detention cell, and into her world.

That day was a very tough one for her. But having Luke nearby helped her so much. And not only because he'd gone along with the Rebel starfighters in the attack on the Death Star, but in hundreds of small, everyday ways. She absolutely could not imagine her life without Luke. The farmboy that the aged Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had brought with him from Tatooine, had grown by leaps and bounds right before her eyes. And that was why she was trapped here in the first place, because of Obi-Wan's apprentice.

Obi-Wan... She'd only gotten one last glance of him before he was killed, by her father. How odd that she would never have met Luke, or Han Solo for that matter, had it not been for him. She'd known him before, of course; she'd seen him a few times when she was a child. He was like a mysterious relative that would show up and turn the entire household upside down with his arrival. She'd even sat on his lap a few times. Her father was at his side constantly. That was probably why he hadn't tried to teach her any Jedi things. Unless it was because he'd known who her real father was, and didn't want to risk teaching the Dark Lord's daughter anything that would endanger others.

After giving it a great deal of thought while imprisoned in Xizor's lair, she found that she didn't take it personally. After all, old Ben had seemed reluctant to teach Luke either, had waited a long time to finally do so, and hadn't gotten very much done in the end. Why had he hesitated? Luke's father, the noble Anakin Skywalker, had met his end at her father's hands. It wasn't as if Luke had the kind of toxic background she had. Leia had figured out that Obi-Wan didn't hold it against her that Darth Vader was her father. It was that he must have been afraid of teaching anybody anything anymore.

Still, one thing was for sure; she made sure Luke had no idea about Darth Vader's link to her. And now, Luke could be walking into a terrible trap, and she had no real way of telling him. She just hoped that he had enough sense to see the pitfalls before he blundered forward.

* * *

Lando's voice came over the intercom, "Better get ready; we are coming out of lightspeed..." And two seconds later, Obi-Wan and Luke felt the ship slip into realspace. Luke shook his head; he'd gotten so used to the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive shudders that he barely felt the shift in this slick machine that Vader had given Obi-Wan for his mission. And despite this comfortable ride, Obi-Wan looked a bit ill. He wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't into space travel. It appeared he liked it about as much as Threepio did, which was to say, not much at all.

Lando had expertly merged into the traffic flow of Coruscant. "I hate the air traffic," Lando grumbled over the com. "It's the worst in the galaxy here; even worse than Corellia. I remember having to wait about three hours one time, almost needed a refuel just to land..."

Luke said to Obi-Wan, "Maybe I should go up to Lando now, so he can download the code Vader gave you to traffic control ."

"Yes, Lando will be quite surprised how much faster this landing is going to be," Obi-Wan commented. As Luke left, the Jedi Master's thoughts turned inwards. It had been many years since he'd been to Coruscant. No doubt it was just as crowded and dirty as it has always been. He'd often wondered whether the Jedi Order should have had their Temple on such a planet. But people like Mace Windu would have laughed him right out of the Order for even suggesting that the Temple be anywhere further from the Senate than where it was.

The Temple, he knew, was not standing any longer. The place was torn down, and the Imperial Palace was built in the space. But while the Temple might be no more, its massive archives remained. Obi-Wan knew that Vader was not stupid; there was no way he would have left the data of over ten thousand years of history of the Jedi order to be erased or destroyed. the Sith had them somewhere, and Obi-Wan was pretty certain he knew where. And he wanted them. Once he and his Padawan were finished rescuing Princess Leia, he wanted to take Luke over to where he suspected they were. If Luke was to resurrect the Jedi Order, having those files would be invaluable.

"You're looking better already, Master. I was getting worried about that slight green look you had earlier," Luke said as he came back down below decks to get his disguise ready.

As Obi-Wan picked up his own disguise, he smiled slightly and murmured, "It's getting a little easier every hour, my Padawan. Every hour..."

* * *

Leia was getting a terrible case of cabin fever. She had to get out of here soon; she could sense the growing danger. And she was starting to get terrified of Guri. She kept eyeing the Ubese bounty hunter's old suit. The helmet was nice and heavy. It was such a terrible plan, but it was all Leia had. If Guri were to come inside the room, she'd do it. Smash the helmet on Guri's head with all her might. For all Leia knew, it could work.

* * *

Lando found Chewbacca by the Southern Underground. Obi-Wan remembered the Wookiee he'd met in Mos Eisley over three years ago; he had been able to speak to the Wookiee with ease, since he was a Jedi. Many people had trouble speaking to Wookiees; their growls were actually very eloquent to those whose ears were trained to listen. Certainly he was an unlikely first mate to a space bum pirate, but he and Han Solo, according to Luke, had been inseparable until Han had been frozen in carbonite.

Luke rushed over to the Wookiee, who had a ridiculous disguise of badly chopped and partially colored fur. "Chewie! The Force was with us all when you managed to escape!" He listened to Chewbacca rumble wildly. "That disguise must be driving you crazy..." Luke answered in a low voice. Obi-Wan watched his Padawan speak with the Wookiee with no apparent trouble. Excellent.

"Let's all get moving," Obi-Wan suggested. "Chewbacca, can you show us where Leia is being kept?"

Chewie grunted. "It's okay, Chewie, he's with us," Luke explained, gesturing to Obi-Wan. "I'll explain it all to you later, I promise...

Obi-Wan looked up at the Wookiee. "The Force has many surprises in store for us, even those of us who have lived long like the trees, Chewbacca. And Luke is right; my identity will be explained fully later, when there is a time and place. Now, we must find the princess..." Luke noticed Lando's amazement at Chewbacca's sudden calmness. Someday, he'd be able to do these things as well, but he was very happy to do the things he already knew how to do.

"Master, I can contact Leia. I've done it before, on Bespin. She and I can communicate mentally, somehow," Luke told him.

Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm not surprised; you two are close to eachother. In time, through the bond that Masters and their Padawans develop, you and I will be able to communicate in that manner as well. In fact, I was able to sense your father's presence through that same bond for many years." He leaned down a bit more. "Luke, _he's_ not onworld. So, if you wish to contact Leia that way, there's no risk of _him_ sensing you do it."

Luke sat down on a bench, and Obi-Wan watched him align his consciousness with the task he was about to do. Eventually, with Obi-Wan's training, he would be able to do this without sitting down or meditating. But, at this point, Obi-Wan thought it was quite commendable that Luke knew how to do this at all. _"Leia..."_ Luke whispered so softly that only a Jedi's ears sharpened with the Force could hear him. _I'm here. I'm coming for you._

* * *

Leia stared out the transparisteel window of her unbearably beautiful room when she heard Luke's voice in her mind. It was just like when she'd found him at Cloud City. _"Luke?"_ she whispered softly. _"I hear you, Luke. I'm here..."_

Chewie must have gotten Luke and Lando to Coruscant already. She was so glad that Luke called to her before he came here. He must be smart enough to see the trap. Maybe he knew that Black Sun was who was behind the death attempts against him.

Well, since they were here, there was no point in her hanging around here anymore. She dressed in the bounty hunter's suit, keeping the helmet off. She checked the chrono on the mantle of the hologrpahic fireplace and saw it was nearly lunchtime. Guri would be coming with her lunch, no doubt, unless she was coming to kill her instead. Either way, she was checking out of this crazy hotel.

The opportunity came, but later than she'd expected. Leia had climbed onto a chair that she had moved behind the door. Leia had her ears trained for any sound coming from the hallway. And while Guri was like most women when it came to not being a very heavy walker, nonetheless, Leia was able to hear her approach. Armed with the helmet, Leia waited to pounce until the exact moment...

* * *

Obi-Wan stopped suddenly, many stories below. "What is it, Master?" Luke asked.

"I felt a tremor in the Force, Luke. Someone just used the Force upstairs..." Obi-Wan reported.

"Who? I thought my... I thought Vader was off-world," Luke corrected himself for Lando's and Chewie's benefit.

"I have my suspicions, but be assured that it's not Vader. Just be extra cautious, Padawan. Maybe you should try to contact Leia again," Obi-Wan suggested.

"Yes, I think I will...wait, what's that?" Luke said sharply as a set of door opened into the hallway of the 14th floor of Xizor's palace. A batch of guards came pouring out of the doors, blasting away. Lando and Chewie let loose, shooting down whoever they could. Luke and Obi-Wan had their lightsabers out even before Lando and Chewie had the blasters out.

Over all the shooting, Luke yelled out, "Master, you don't think it was _Prince Xizor,_ do you?"

"If it was, then we have no time to waste. We'd better separate now. We'll meet at the 50th floor launchpad like we'd planned. Keep contact, Luke!" Obi-Wan warned, then charged forward. Luke tried to watch him dodge each blaster bolt, but he couldn't; not only did he have plenty of his own to deal with, but Obi-Wan's lightsaber work was simply too fast to watch.

Leia scurried down one hallway after another, trying desperately to remember how she was led in here, so she could reverse it to get out. She instinctively knew to go down rather than up, but other than that, her progress was very slow. And she was getting more and more worried that Guri would find her. No doubt, she'd kill Leia if she had the opportunity.

_Okay, you'd better get a grip on your nerves if you're going to get out of here alive,_ Leia warned herself. She felt a shiver creep up and down her spine, which added to her anxiety. At the same time, she felt a tingling in her fingertips; it was pleasant, almost reassuring. Quickly, as she wandered down yet another endless corridor, Leia analyzed the sensations. The shiver, that was Guri, and probably Xizor. The tingle, that might be Luke! Which one was closer? She froze in place, unable to be certain which sensation was stronger, only that they both were intensifying...

Suddenly, at one end of the hall, the elevator opened, and Xizor emerged with Guri. Leia gasped; they were both armed with blasters, Xizor's particularly deadly looking. And just as suddenly, another elevator opened, nearer to Leia's side, and from there emerged a man she'd never seen before. Surely, if she _had_ seen him before, she would definitely have remembered him. _You don't forget blue eyes like those,_ she thought. It was very strange how the moment of danger simply dissolved into a forgotten pool just after taking one look at him. She blinked, slack jawed, as he strode into the hallway. It made no difference that he was clothed in drab, coarse browns and tans; he had far more _presence_ than the more opulent, more exotic Falleen holding the bright shiny quicksilver blaster. His presence was even more dramatic when he switched on a blue lightsaber.

"A Jedi? You're not Skywalker! I know you're not, even if those idiots who attacked you on Tatooine thought you might be." The man Leia couldn't stop staring at smiled slightly at Xizor. Otherwise, his only response was to hold his lightsaber at the ready. Xizor sighed. "What hope do you have against two people armed with blasters? Do you have your own?"

"I find them..._uncivilized_ weapons," the man commented. He turned those eyes to Leia. "Princess, you'd better go find Luke; he's a few floors down yet. Have him get everyone to the ship, and I'll meet you all there as soon as I can," he told her.

"But...Guri! She's a droid!" Leia told him desperately.

"Oh? My, what they dream up nowadays," the man commented lightly. Leia got even more frightened for this man, and Xizor got more annoyed. He fired on them. "Princess Leia, go!" he ordered her, nearly shoving her into the elevator that he'd just left.

"No! Don't stay there!" Leia cried as the door shut. Her last sight of him was under a barrage of blasterfire.

Obi-Wan let the Force flow through him, let it guide his lightsaber, blocking every shot. Xizor frowned; Obi-Wan could sense his thoughts. This one, Prince Xizor, he liked to be in control, didn't he? Well, the Force, it turns out, was not one of the things that he controlled. So, the only logical conclusion he could dome to was that the one who had used the Force before had been the headstrong Princess Leia. Excellent...

"Your thoughts betray you, your highness. Your anger at losing Leia is clouding your judgement. Surely you must know that shooting endlessly at a Jedi is a waste of time and energy. Although I do need the exersize," Obi-Wan said idly.

Xizor lowered his blaster. "Indeed. You're quite right. We are wasting time by shooting at you. And, since you need the exersize so much, Jedi...Guri!" he said, gesturing toward Obi-Wan. The blonde female form of Guri leaped in the air. Obi-Wan cocked one brow as she sailed over his head. This might actually prove to be interesting.

Especially since, on her way down, she kicked the lightsaber out of Obi-Wan's hand. She landed beside him and drove right into attack. Obi-Wan blocked her sweeping hands, her flying kicks. One well placed uppercut sent Guri flying out of his orbit. But to his concern, Guri didn't seem to get damaged too easily; she leaped right back up again and pressed on.

Xizor was torn; he wanted to stay and watch this battle. It wasn't everyday that Guri got to fight a Jedi knight. But, he had to make sure that he killed Luke Skywalker while he had the chance. And besides, he could always see this later when he replayed the surveillance video. So Xizor took off, while Guri went to finish off Obi-Wan.

She never missed a beat, and Obi-Wan, while able to sense through the Force what she might do next, was having a difficult time with her robotic strength. He needed his lightsaber so he could finish this quickly. He spied it out of the corner of his eye, and in that split second of distraction, while he used the Force to bring the weapon to him, Guri struck his lower leg. His knee buckled, but he managed to keep himself upright as his lightsaber landed in his hands. Guri rushed him, he ignited the lightsaber. She fell onto the glowing blade, but this didn't deter her. She struck his leg in the same place again, surely computing it was a weak spot now. This time, the bones cracked audibly, and Obi-Wan toppled to the floor in agony.

Guri backed off; she had a hole burnt through her torso from the lightsaber, so she was definitely damaged. Her cold droid eyes assessed the damaged she'd done to Obi-Wan. She could see the calf-high boot the Jedi wore, the blood spilling over the top from where the broken bones had punctured the skin. Yet he still held the lightsaber, which put her at a new disadvantage. It would be impossible to finish him off right now. On the other hand, she decided he'd be no more threat to her master at the moment. She'd aid Xizor downstairs with Luke Skywalker, he was her master's more important quarry. She turned and dashed out of the twentieth floor hallway.

Obi-Wan tried to contain the pain and release it into the Force, but wasn't very successful. He'd be quite unable to walk out of the building in this condition. And he had a terrible new feeling, that he'd be needing to get out of there very fast. Why was that?

He didn't have to wait long to find out. His Padawan's voice crackled over his comlink. "Master! Are you alright? Where are you? Lando just tossed one of the the thermal detonators we had down the garbage chute! We need to evacuate the building, it's going to blow up in five minutes! Do you copy? Master? _Do you copy?"_

Obi-Wan couldn't bring himself to answer. He was, to put it succinctly, screwed...


	5. The Longest Five Minutes

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 5: The Longest Five Minutes

_Damn that Lando Calrissian! He's as impulsive as the rest of them! Imagine, tossing a thermal detonator into the garbage chute!_

Obi-Wan knew he'd have to respond, or Luke would not let up, and he was wasting his time. So, he pressed the response button on his comlink with great regret. "No, Padawan, you must leave here with the others! I'm too badly injured; I'll never make it out of here in time!"

"I sensed you've been hurt. It's your leg? Can you get to the elevator? If you can get there, I'll be able to find you and get you to the launchpad on level 50," Luke told him. "Master, are you there?"

Obi-Wan stared at the elevator doors just across the hallway, and reconsidered his options. Did he really want to die like this? He'd be trapped in the collapsed building, under tons of rubble, to either suffocate or starve to death, and then rot away, aware of it the whole time! He drew a deep, shuddering breath, then said, "Alright, I'm going into the lift now..." He didn't manage to hear what Luke said after that, but Obi-Wan was confident that his Padawan would find him. Vader was right about one thing, he thought dimly as he dragged himself by his arms across the floor; there was definitely a Jedi bond forming between him and Luke. Well, that hadn't taken long at all.

Once inside the elevator, Obi-Wan tried to stand on his one remaining knee to reach the UP arrow button, since he was unable to reach the button for the 50th level. He hoped he'd be able to time it just right to stop the lift at level 50. His broken leg was bleeding badly, and now, the pain was throbbing. There was blood on the polished metal floor of the lift, and Obi-Wan tried vainly not to think about how bad this was becoming. Instead, he tried to meditate.

And that was when the lift shut down with a loud thud.

_"What the..."_ Obi-Wan gasped. He switched on the comlink again frantically. "Luke! The lift has stopped moving! What's going on?"

"Master, I have a feeling that Xizor, spiteful thing he is, has shut down the rest of the lifts. What floor are you on?"

Obi-Wan searched for the display. "I'm between levels 44 and 45. That's it! You can't hang around here, Luke, you need to leave!" Obi-Wan said, trying not to choke with the disappointment and fear.

"No, I'm not leaving you here! I can get the elevator up to the the 50th level, but you'll need to cut through the doors with your lightsaber to get out. Can you manage that?" Luke asked.

Just like his father, Obi-Wan thought sadly. "Very well, if you must, but hurry!" Obi-Wan sighed, not wanting to waste any precious time arguing. He'd learned, from his years of experience training Anakin, that stubborn Padawans can be dealt with after the crisis was over. And if, by some miracle he survived this, he was going to be sure and chew Luke up one side and down the other for this! Just how was Luke supposed to get the lift moving, anyway?

Obi-Wan suddenly noticed the Force flowing around him. It was Luke! He had power at least equal to his father's, of that, Obi-Wan was certain. No wonder the Emperor was so keen to get his hands on Luke! Obi-Wan himself would never have been able to lift this elevator. And that was what Luke was doing. Obi-Wan had to trust that his Padawan didn't just make a big mistake trying to do this, so he concentrated instead on igniting his lightsaber and cutting a nice sized hole in the doors. He used a Force push to shove the melting metal out, so that he would be able to look out and up the shaft to see Luke's head peering down at him through the hole _he'd_ cut in his set of doors with his lightsaber.

The lift stopped when it reached the other set of doors with the hole. They weren't aligned perfectly, so Obi-Wan knew he'd have to be careful not to fall through between the two sets of doors. Luke would not be able to give him any help, either, because he was using the Force to hole the elevator lift in place. So Obi-Wan braced himself, and used his one good leg to try and propel himself out.

He winced as his other leg, that painful dead weight, made one wrong move as he slid through the first set. Obi-Wan's heart pounded as he gripped the other doors and heaved himself up through them as well. When he finally fell through onto the duracrete floor of Level 50, he painfully sat up. Luke let go of the Force, and the elevator fell down the shaft.

"Master," Luke said, panting from that stunt he'd just pulled, "lean on me. The launchpad is just through here..." And with Obi-Wan on on side, and his lightsaber ready to go into the other, ready to deflect any shots that might come their way, Luke made his way to the _Phoenix._ Princess Leia was waiting anxiously for them by the open cargo hold, with her eyes nearly bulging out of her head. Obi-Wan tried to stand a bit better, but that leg was still as broken as it was five minutes ago.

The Force shuddered, and one instant later, so did the building. "Leia, the detonator went off! Tell Lando to get us out of here!" Luke shouted from halfway across the launchpad. Leia, thinking quickly, pressed the control for the tow cable while she told Lando to take off through her comlink. "Good girl," Luke muttered as he grabbed the tow cable and looped it around himself and Obi-Wan. It was just in time too, as the _Phoenix_ lifted into the air, carrying Luke and Obi-Wan with it, as the launchpad's duracrete surface disintegrated under their feet.

As they began their reckless flight, a barrage of blaster fire rained down on the two hanging Jedi. The _Virago,_ Prince Xizor's ship, was hovering beside the _Phoenix,_ angrier than a hornet whose nest had been destroyed. Luke grit his teeth and tried to swing them both out of the way of each bolt. Obi-Wan had other ideas; he was getting Vader on the comlink. He's had just about enough of this Xizor fellow. "Vader do you copy? I know you're there, dammit, I can sense your presence!" Obi-Wan snapped.

"Wait, I'm just watching as a building is collapsing across from here..." Vader's metallic growl reported. "Unless of course, that's what _you've_ been up to. It's not nice to leave me out, you know."

"I just knew I could count on you to, as usual, do exactly what I had asked you _not_ to do! So, Vader, here's your big chance! I need you to get into your ship and get the _Virago_ off our tails! Prince Xizor wasn't terribly happy with our redecorating ideas, I'm afraid."

"Is he trying to kill Luke?" Vader asked.

"Well, yes, he is. He's also trying to kill me, not that you care," Obi-Wan answered with a bit of sarcasm.

"I can sense you're in pain," Vader commented. "No doubt that's why you're in such a wonderful mood. Very well, I'll mop up after you lot, but don't expect this all the time. The Emperor might start to get suspicious..."

Obi-Wan was about ready to throw his comlink in annoyance, but he wisely refrained. Instead, he swung back and forth with Luke, as Leia operated the tow cable to lift them into the cargo hold. The door was still open, and Xizor's blasts were hitting near her as well. She took cover inside, but her safety was in almost as much question as thiers. He could sense Luke's anger at Xizor for shooting at Leia, and he was surprised to feel his own anger rising. She had no lightsaber to deflect the shots, she could get hurt! Obi-Wan ignited his own lightsaber, and as Luke swung them around, he bounced a few of Xizor's bolts back at him. Obi-Wan could see the Falleen's face, and it showed the rage they all were feeling at the moment.

A few seconds later, a second set of shots filled the nearby air. Luke gasped when he saw the TIE Interceptor bearing down on them. "Oh, now we're done!" he yelled.

"No, I called him here. Took him long enough..." Obi-Wan complained.

"Wait, is that...Father?" Luke groaned. He could even barely make the outline of Darth Vader's mask through the glare on the windsheild of the TIE. Luke felt the pull, the same one he'd felt when he was escaping on the _Falcon_ from Bespin. _He is coming to rescue us, see, I knew he wasn't all bad after all..._ Effortlessly, Vader weaved in and out of the air traffic, surrounding the _Virago_ with warning shots, and at least the blaster fire from Prince Xizor stopped.

"Leia, be careful!" Obi-Wan called to her. For she was leaning out the door, gaping at the TIE shooting at the Underlord of Black Sun himself. Suddenly, she came to her senses, and continued towing Luke and Obi-Wan back into the ship. Thanks to Vader's cover, she was able to get them both safely inside the _Phoenix_ and close the cargo hold door at last.

She hugged Luke, then looked down at the mysterious Jedi who had found her. Her heart began to pound when she saw his leg. "Guri?" she stammered.

"Yes," Obi-Wan answered. He hated seeing Leia so shaken; obviously, Guri had unnerved her more than most people ever did. "But we're all safe now, Princess Leia."

"And you've yet to tell me who you are," Leia commented. "As soon as we get you somewhere comfortable, you're going to have to explain why Luke calls you his master."

Obi-Wan was silent, though, as he was brought to one of the few built in cots that the _Phoenix_ was equipped with. He was thoughtful, mindful. He'd sensed Luke's reaction to Vader's proximity through the Jedi bond. And he'd seen Leia nearly fall out of the cargo door. She might have felt the pull as well. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. What did it all mean?


	6. ObiWan's Dream

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 6: Obi-Wan's Dream

The _Phoenix_ entered smoothly into hyperspace, on it's way to the Rebel Fleet gathered near the Sullust system. Leia was about to ask Obi-Wan again who he was, but something made her stop. She saw the condition he was in, and worry overcame her desire to ask questions. His breathing had become more rapid, his face was pale and not very alert. Leia recognized the signs, alright; he was going into hypovolemic shock from the blood loss.

"Luke, I think I have to at least reset the bones in his leg, so maybe I could get him to stop bleeding. You need to get the first aid kit, and then I'm going to need Artoo; he has a humanoid anatomy program that will help."

Luke looked alarmed when he heard that. "Leia, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Don't worry, Luke. Winter and I both took advanced first aid courses when we went to the University of Alderaan. And, I've set bones before. I need Artoo's help so I can visualize things better, not so that I can actually find the bones," Leia informed him. She opened up the first aid kit, and was glad to see some bacta packs, some bandages, and some rubber gloves. With the scissors included in the kit, Leia was able to cut the boot off the broken leg. "I still don't know his name. What's his name?"

"It's Obi-Wan," Luke told her.

To Luke's surprise, Leia looked annoyed. "Luke, I don't have time for games! His name isn't Obi-Wan!" she snapped.

"Hey, at first, I thought it was a bad joke too. But he _is_ Obi-Wan Kenobi. Honest!" After that protest, Luke got very quiet. His Jedi Master's leg was in a very bad way indeed. How was Leia supposed to be able to help him with a compound, open fracture?

With impatience, Leia shook her head. She had to quickly assess the damage done to the man's leg and ignore the implications of it actually being true. If the Jedi was in shock, she needed to see if he could be kept alert at all. "Obi-Wan, look at me!" she said. She was surprised that the responded quickly, turning his blue eyes to her face. _Obi-Wan_ is _his name!_ Putting it firmly out of her mind, Leia told the him that she was going to reset his bones. She half expected him to become as alarmed as Luke had been. But to her relief, he simply nodded quietly, then closed his eyes. "Obi-Wan, I know you want to, but you can't pass out right now! I'm going to need your help." His eyes opened reluctantly, and sighed deeply. Apparently, he knew what was coming.

Meanwhile, Artoo arrived, with Threepio right behind. "You called, Mistress Leia?" the golden droid asked.

"Threepio, I need Artoo to run the medical anatomy program. I need the lower right leg skeletal structure displayed." With a few beeps and bleeps, Artoo's memory banks activated, and he brought up a hologram of the right leg of a human, showing the pair of bones that connected the knee to the ankle. "Great, I'll need that in just a minute. Right now, Obi-Wan, I need you to hold onto the sides of the cot for leverage. You're going to need to pull backwards when I tell you to. I'm going to be pulling forward." Obi-Wan nodded grimly, holding on and bracing himself. "One...two..._three..."_

To Obi-Wan's great credit, he barely screamed as Leia pulled the leg enough to make the room necessary to place the bones back where they belonged. He was grateful that she only needed one try to get them right where they should be. Naturally, he felt the Force at work. She would not have been able to do that, especially in one try, without the Force. Unable to bear it any longer, Obi-Wan passed out.

Leia glanced up at Luke. He looked like _he_ was going to pass out, too. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone so brave," she murmured, gently smoothing his ginger hair. Then she stopped and turned on Luke suddenly. "There's no way this man could be Obi-Wan Kenobi! I _saw_ what happened to Obi-Wan on the Death Star! He _died!_ And he was an older man, too. Older than this man is..." Leia argued. She flashed back to that moment, when Ben Kenobi stood before Darth Vader, serenely raised his lightsaber, and saw Darth Vader slice right through him. Could this man face death so peacefully? "It's impossible. People don't come back from the dead!"

"You know, Leia, I'm getting the feeling that you don't _want_ to beleive me for some reason." Luke watched Leia start to smooth Obi-Wan's hair again. He was getting a strange vibe, and it made him want to try to distract her from this ASAP. "Look, I know you don't like talking about him, but this all came about because of Darth Vader. He's brought Obi-Wan Kenobi back to life."

Well, that worked; Leia glared at Luke. "Why in the world would Vader bring Obi-Wan back to life? I thought he hated him," Leia frowned.

_My dear Leia, you had no idea how much Vader hates me until now..._

_Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter._ Thoughts that inspired despair floated through Obi-Wan's mind. To try and bring dead things back to life was, in Obi-Wan's opinion, a worship of the flesh, not of the spirit within the flesh. His only hope of any peace was Luke. If he could learn the ways of the Force, perhaps Vader would keep his word and allow him to die again with dignity.

_If only I could see Qui-Gon Jinn again._

Perhaps he was just hallucinating; he was still in terrible pain (and so therefore could not be unconscious, merely half asleep). But at least the vision of Qui-Gon, seated beside the cot brought him comfort. Obi-Wan suddenly found himself as a young Padawan of thirteen, not the grown-up Jedi Master Luke and Vader had seen him as. He blinked and grinned. The spirit form of his beloved old Jedi Master grinned back. _"Qui-Gon?"_ he gasped, _"I thought I'd never see you again!"_

"Which proves, once again, what happens when you let your mind just run away with you. I actually had sensed what had happened to you, but I didn't dare visit you until you were a little less upset. Well, look at you! You're alive!" Qui-Gon said.

"It's a total disaster! How did Vader do it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Hmm...I'm not totally certain, but I think Anakin can only do it to people like us, in other words, people who had discovered the ability to retain their identities in the netherworld. Which, right now, includes you, me, and Yoda. Who isn't dead yet, therefore he is safe, for the time being. Ani had been experimenting with those who had just died, whose souls hadn't been able to dissolve yet. He'd gotten more proficient at keeping the soul in the body until it suited him to let it go. Then, the souls would enter the Force, and dissolve," Qui-Gon explained.

"You knew all this?" Obi-Wan gasped.

"Of course I didn't, not until just now. Really Obi-Wan, if I'd known it before, don't you think I'd have gone to Anakin and said something?" Qui-Gon asked.

"What? That would have been the worst thing you could have done! He'd have snared you, like he did me! He very well still could do it!" Obi-Wan fretted. "How I regret having gone to him to taunt him like I did!"

"Well, yes, then this never would have happened. And then, you would not have saved Luke from the assasins in the cantina--nice lightsaber work, by the way--nor would you have been able to help Leia escape Prince Xizor's castle. And you certainly could not have taken Luke as your Padawan! You have a new Padawan Learner, Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon said with excitement.

"Yes, the son of the one I failed so miserably," Obi-Wan whispered brokenly.

"Obi-Wan, listen to me. I never for one moment thought you had failed Anakin. And more importantly, I don't believe he ever thought that either. If he did, would he really have trusted his son to you?" Qui-Gon asked.

Obi-Wan got a bit upset at his old master's naive attitude. "Darth Vader is hoping that I'll do to Luke whatever I'd done to him, to make Luke turn to the Dark Side. Then, he'll turn the boy into a Sith Lord!"

For some reason, Obi-Wan could still see Princess Leia; she was using the Force. He couls see white light surrounding her. Qui-Gon noticed her there too. She turned to Luke, who was barely visible through the haze. "He's got a fever, Luke. See if you can get the bacta ready."

Qui-Gon turned back to Obi-Wan. "You seem to be in very capable hands, my former Padawan. Actually, I think, if she can get over the fact that you separated her from her twin brother at birth, she might actually like you."

"Oh, great!" Obi-Wan seethed, and he wasn't sure what he was more annoyed about; Qui-Gon's second guessing, or the prospect of Princess Leia hating him.

"Obi-Wan, for your own health, you must not look so intently at the future which is clouded with so many different possiblities, but concentrate on where you are now. Who you are with, right now. And trust in the Force completely," Qui-Gon advised.

"You sound much like Yoda sounded when he spoke to Luke on Dagobah. I believe you've got a true convert on your hands in Master Yoda. However, to me, it is indisputable that Vader is evil to the core. And he hates me with a venom that astounds and dismays me," Obi-Wan admitted.

Qui-Gon shook his head. "I disagree. I am of the opinion that he is one step away from forgiving you."

"Please don't tell me that you're jumping on that 'Anakin has some good in him still' bandwagon!" Obi-Wan scoffed.

"Well, he didn't slice you into thin ribbons, did he?" Qui-Gon asked.

"That's only because he wants me to train Luke!" Obi-Wan nearly growled.

"Which you should, by all means, do. And then, we shall see who really ends up the winner of this game..." Qui-Gon murmured. "I shall go to Yoda, and tell him what has happened to you. Warn him that if he was making plans to become one with the Force anytime soon, that he would perhaps be wiser to put those on hold. And Obi-Wan, remember that I'm always nearby if you need me. May the Force be with you, Obi-Wan."

"May the Force be with you, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan answered, subdued. Qui-Gon faded away.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, and seemed to grow older at once as he sat up in the cot. Across from him was the princess, who was watching the hologram of a human leg, but was using the Force to mend the broken bones back together.

This must mean something. Maybe Qui-Gon was right; maybe he should trust more in the Force. After all, the last time he'd completely trusted in the Force, it was on the Death Star, with Vader's lightsaber cutting through him. He never even felt it.

And Leia was trusting in the Force as well. Unless it was all just a dream? Healing was a personal thing, many times. Healers and their patients sometimes form a link through the Force, and Obi-Wan sensed the link forming between him and Leia. He could only see her through a haze of light, in this dream realm he was in. If it was a dream, it certainly was making his leg feel better. He almost was finding himself daring to think he might actually be able to walk once more.

Could the Force have more in store for them all?

Luke and Leia sat near the sleeping Obi-Wan, facing eachother. They both talked a little about Prince Xizor, the latest attempt on Luke's life, and the time that Boba Fett will most likely arrive on Tatooine. All this talk, however, skirted around what they actually _needed_ to talk about. Finally, Leia sighed.

"Do you have any idea why Vader brought Obi-Wan Kenobi back to life? What is he thinking?" she asked, shaking her head.

"It was a shock to me, especially after what went down in Cloud City. It appears that Vader sent Obi-Wan to train me in the ways of the Force," Luke told her.

"It makes no sense to me why he would do that," Leia commented.

Luke pursed his lips. "Well, he doesn't think I trust him," he said.

"Well, there's the understatement of the the year! He cut your hand off, after all!" Leia growled. Abruptly, she deflated. "I'm sorry, Luke. I don't know what to do about him. I don't know how to get through to him. He keeps doing these things; just when I think he's going to calm down, he goes off the deep end. First you, and now Obi-Wan! This is the most outrageous thing he's ever done!"

Luke gaped. "Leia, what are you talking about? How are you supposed to control Vader?"

"You don't understand, Luke. I should have told you a long time ago. I have, well, you can sort of call it, leverage, with Vader. Or, at least, I thought I did. I guess when he froze Han in carbonite, I realized that what in-roads I thought I had were worthless."

"Leia, what are you saying?" Luke asked breathlessly.

Leia glanced at Obi-Wan, who stirred a bit, mumbled something incoherent, then drifted back into sleep. Then she eyed Luke. "I found out, when I was a captive on the Death Star, right before I met you, the identity of my biological father. I know I should have said something, I was foolish, but I was also afraid. I was afraid you'd hate me, after what Darth Vader did to your father..." Tears streamed down Leia's eyes, and Luke felt like the floor was falling out from under him.

"Leia! Darth Vader is your father?" he whispered in disbelief. She nodded, then began to cry a bit harder. "Leia? How did you find out? Did he tell you?"

"He...let it slip while interrogating me. I think he's known for years, but never said anything until that day," she sighed. Luke got a tissue for her. As she dabbed her eyes, she added, "That horrible, horrible man! He's my father! I came from him! How can that be?"

Luke decided, at that moment, that he had to tell all as well. "Leia, do you know what Darth Vader's true identity is?"

She stared at Luke. "What true identity? How is that supposed to be significant?"

"Leia, you must understand why I've never said anything until now. All my life, I knew that Anakin Skywalker was my father. For years, I thought he was just a pilot that died in a space freighter accident. Then, Obi-Wan told me, when I brought Artoo to his house with your message for help, that Anakin Skywalker was actually a Jedi Knight. I thought Darth Vader had killed him. But on Cloud City, I found out that Anakin Skywalker wasn't dead at all. Just...changed," Luke explained cryptically.

Leia's big dark eyes grew a lot bigger. Then, she wiped a stray tear, took a breath, and said, "You mean that my father, my birth father, was a great hero of the Clone Wars once, the one who brought down Count Dooku himself? He wasn't just the Emperor's thug all the while? Luke, that means that you are my brother! At least, my half-brother." She became thoughtful suddenly. "Wait a minute! We both have the exact same birthday!" She suddenly became very excited. "Luke! I can't beleive it! We're twins!"

She grabbed Luke's hands while tears streamed out of her eyes. Luke tried not to show how troubled he'd just become. Princess Leia was his _sister!_ He felt like he'd swallowed a sandstorm. Both his father and his Jedi Master had ample opportunity to tell him this bit of news! He felt like he'd been blindsided by this. Whatever silly lingering hope that he might have had of Leia and him... Well, she was in love with Han Solo anyway... But still...it was all dead now. He'd have to go from being in love with Leia to loving her as a _sister!_ He'd do it, because he had to. But it wouldn't be that easy.

A tear slid down his cheek, but Leia misunderstood it, grinning and wiping it away. He glanced at Obi-Wan, who stirred again. Luke broke away from Leia for just a moment. He had to tell himself to keep the anger at bay, to release the anger into the Force. He laid his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. The Jedi Master opened his eyes slowly.

"I can see in your eyes that something has happened, my Padawan. What is it?" Obi-Wan asked weakly.

Luke grit his teeth, bit down what he was going to say, and instead took a breath. "Leia and I were just comparing notes. It appears as though we have more in common than we'd ever thought. I just thought you might like to...elaborate on this for us. In fact, I think it's very necessary, don't you?" Luke said as pleasantly as his boiling blood would allow him to.

"Oh, yes. I see what you mean. I can explain..." Obi-Wan said slowly. _Famous last words, aren't those?_


	7. Too Many Secrets

Legacy of the Sith 

Chapter 7: Too Many Secrets

Both Luke and Leia stared at Obi-Wan as he sat up and cleared his throat. "Very well. I owe you both an explanation about what has happened, and why it happened. I know that much of it is my fault. It all started with your father sneaking off and marrying your mother while he was still a Padawan Learner. Palpatine, the Chancellor, had his eye on Anakin for a long while. He'd befriended your father, was sort of a grandfather type figure to him. I blame myself for being so blind. Palpatine knew Anakin's potential. I should have been much more careful. But I was too busy, I suppose. How I could not have seen what the Chancellor was up to..." Obi-Wan shook his head sadly.

"What do you mean, that Palpatine knew of Anakin Skywalker's potential?" Leia frowned. The idea of her father being Palpatine's pawn for so long was beginning to gnaw at her, especially since she now knew that Darth Vader had once been someone else. Someone worthwhile, someone who was a hero.

"Anakin Skywalker was a rather unique Jedi. He had been brought before the Council at a much older age than virtually anyone else. Most of the Jedi, like myself, had been less than a year old when brought to the attention of the Jedi Council. Anakin was almost ten years old. Yoda could not train him with the other Padawan Initiates, so my Jedi Master had offered to train him. At that time circumstances forbade this, as I was still his Learner, and had totake the Jedi Trials. No Jedi Master could teach more than one Padawan Learner at a time, so Anakin had no one. My Jedi Master was soon killed. His dying wish was that _I_ train Anakin. He believed, as soon did the rest of the Council, that Anakin was a Chosen One. Someone who could bring balance to the Force. He was, and still is, extremely strong in the Force. And Palpatine knew all this. After all, it was _his_ homeworld, Naboo, that had been saved, not just by my actions and my Jedi Master's, but also through Anakin's. I did start to train Anakin, and Palpatine bided his time. When the moment came, he struck, like a poison viper."

"How did he turn our father against you?" Luke asked unhappily.

"He used fear, Luke. Anakin had this tendency to have nightmares. He'd had recurring ones about his mother, who it turned out died in captivity of the Tusken Raiders. Apparently, he began having nightmares about your mother. He feared she'd die in childbirth. It was irrational, unfounded," Obi-Wan explained hastily.

"Apparently not. I can very vaguely recall her face. I only saw it for a brief moment. She was very sad. and she was dying, now that I look back and remember it with an adult mind," Leia told him. "So she _did_ die, after giving birth to us..."

"As strange as this might sound, she died, not of childbirth, but a broken heart. I would never have thought it of Padmé Amidala Naberrie; yes, Princess Leia, you really _are_ still a princess, as your mother was once a queen. Then, Senator from Naboo. Yes, the same homeworld as Palpatine. For what it's worth, I think he was fond of her, in his own strange way. Palpatinewas willing to risk her life for his schemes, of course, but Anakin knew nothing of this. Instead, Palpatine convinced your father to turn to the Dark Side."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. "By the time Padmé caught up with him, Anakin was so far gone that he was making no sense any longer. He'd glutted himself on the Dark Side. Used it to destroy everything he'd once held dear. He nearly destroyed your mother right then and there. And he would have killed me, had I not had the Force with me that day. That horrible, horrible day..." He squeezed his eyes shut, and lost track of where he was. He could only see the hate in Anakin's eyes as he left him to die on the cliffside. He opened his eyes only after recalling Qui-Gon's words: _Concentrate on where you are now. Who you are with, right now._ He glanced at Leia and Luke, Anakin's children. All grown up and ready to take their places in the galaxy. If only they knew what those places were. "As recently as a few days ago, when he brought me back from the netherworld of the Force, he mentioned a tale Palpatine must have told him about keeping people alive with the midiclorians of the Force... Anakin believed it. Ironically, it was used to bring _me_ back, the one person he hates most in this galaxy, and not his beloved Padmé."

"Now, in order to understand what actions were taken next, you need to understand things about the Sith. Luke, in your training with Yoda, did he ever mention the Sith?"

"Just that Vader had taken the title of Darth, which meant that he was a Sith. They're like Jedi who have turned to the Dark Side, aren't they?" Luke asked.

"No, my Padawan, they are not. Many more Jedi, regrettably, have turned to the Dark Side than there have ever been Sith Lords. Many millenia ago, the Sith were an actually race of people, but they are long gone from existence. There were, supposedly, many Sith once, so I had read, but that stopped after the Sith and Jedi had gone to war with eachother, or something like that. Be that as it may, there are now only two Sith. Never more, and if they can at all help it, no less. A Master Darth, and his or her Apprentice."

"The Emperor's Force Sensitive?" Leia asked in surprise.

"Oh, yes! He's a Sith Lord, which of course, only a handful of people, including Yoda, know," Obi-Wan explained.

"A Sith! Like Vader?" Luke asked.

"Palpatine goes by the name of Darth Sidious when he wishes others to know of his power. The true source of his power is the Dark Side of the Force. He is your father's master." Obi-Wan shifted in his cot, then said, "Your father has been his apprentice for your entire lives. I find it incredible that your father hasn't rebelled yet. Perhaps he's biding his time, waiting to see which of you has more potential to be his apprentice. You see, that's why you two are such a threat to the Emperor. If your father finds a new apprentice, he'll bring him, or her, before his old master and then there will no doubt be a fight to the death. And someone with your father's power will win out easily."

Obi-Wan bowed his head. "That is the very reason why you and your sister were hidden from your father, and the Emperor, when you were born. We separated you for the same reason, to keep the other safe if by some chance one was discovered. I know how unfair this all must seem to you both. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for what I felt I had to do. And for all that, I very well might have failed to keep you both safe. That's the worst part you know. The idea that it might all have been for nothing."

Leia's tears were silent. Luke wanted to cry too. He wanted to howl, or throw something. "You mean, that the Emperor knows about me, Master?"

"That's exactly right. But Luke, Vader told me that the Emperor doesn't know about Princess Leia's connection to him, or you," Obi-Wan nodded.

"But he _does_ know about Luke!" Leia said miserably.

"And there's no guarantee that the Emperor won't find out about Leia eventually," Luke pointed out.

"That's very true, Luke. Especially given the knack you both have for using the Force. It flows through the two of you in the same way it does your father." His eyes searched each face. "I saw how you both reacted when your father was near earlier. I have to admit, I was taken aback. It won't be long now before something happens that will make the Emperor take more notice. He will not be able to ignore the growing disturbance in the Force. I can't believe he hasn't noticed what your father's been up to these past couple of weeks. I suppose he'd rather not believe it," Obi-Wan sighed.

Luke started to pace, as if mulling over all the information he'd just heard. Then he shook his head. "Master, there's just one thing I don't understand. If our father wanted to go through with this challenge to his master, why hadn't he done it long ago? He could have snatched Leia away; he knew where she was almost from the get-go, apparently. He could have grabbed me too, once he found out about me. Yet, he's been keeping his distance, especially this past year. If this Duel of the Darths was such a slam dunk, why hasn't he moved to do it already? He could rule the galaxy!"

Obi-Wan shook his head as well. "I have several possibilities in mind, my Padawan, ranging from not being able to truly choose one twin over another, to the fact that Palpatine is his _Master._ You two must not underestimate the power that man holds over your father. I see signs of him struggling to fight him, but it won't be easy. Your father always had a master; he was born into slavery. Sold from one to another, like an animal. And then, when I began to train him in the ways of the Force, he called me "Master," though obviously it was different than before. But still, after he passed the Jedi Trials, he called me Master. A title, or at least I'd like to think it was just that. It's actually very sad. The truth is, I don't really know what your father is up to, or what he'll do next."

Everyone became very quiet when Lando came down to the small area that the three others, along with the droids, had settled. "How's your leg doing there?" he asked Obi-Wan.

"It's doing much better than I'd ever thought possible," he answered, giving Leia a grateful look. Luke snuck a glance at her, watching her reaction. She just had what Luke could only describe accurately as a "ga-ga" look on her face.

"Lando? How long until we get to the Rebel Fleet?" Luke asked urgently.

"Just under 2 hours, Luke. At first I was worried that he wasn't going to make it," Lando said. "He was bleeding real badly. How'd you get him mended so fast?"

"Leia was of tremendous help," Obi-Wan told him. Luke watched Leia's "ga-ga" face deepen into a complete hopeless case of "goosh." He had to do something. He watched Lando saunter back up to the cockpit.

"Come on Leia, let Obi-Wan rest for a while," Luke said, taking Leia by the arm and starting to pull her away.

"Oh, I'm alright, Luke. We can talk some more. I'm not tired," Obi-Wan protested.

"Yes, you are," Luke seethed before he could stop himself. Obi-Wan's eyes widened, and Leia rounded on Luke.

_"Luke! What is your problem?"_ she hissed.

"Obviously, my Padawan has something on his mind..." Obi-Wan said serenely.

They both turned to Luke. "Look," he said, "I just want this to work so badly! And it just seems like there's one thing after another that comes up that blindsides me..."

Obi-Wan leaned forward. "Beleive me when I tell you that I need this to work just as much as you want it to work. And things come up that knock you off course, or so it always seems. But if your goal is strong enough in your mind, things will always work themselves out to that end eventually. That is the nature of the Force. Now, perhaps your brother is right, Leia. Maybe I should rest a bit more before we get there. No doubt, I shall have to explain myself to many people. It's a tiring thing sometimes." With that, everyone seemed to settle down for the remainder of the trip.

The next few weeks were sheer torture. As word slowly got around that Obi-Wan had once been dead, he and Luke were the objects of endless stares and whispers up and down the halls of the main flagship of the Fleet. Rogue Squadron was behaving weird around him, and Obi-wan wasn't particularly crazy about Luke going off on practice runs with his X-Wing. Everyone who was involved was waiting with great anxiety for the day they get the call to get to Tatooine for Han. Obi-Wan was in rehab for his leg, and Leia was getting involved with that too.

That was what Luke worried about the most. Leia and Obi-Wan. He'd seen them interacting with eachother. Oh, it was cetainly very innocent looking. She was just supervising his leg's recovery. Helping him out in the gym with the weights. Sure. Luke just didn't quite grasp how watching Leia do chest presses was helping Obi-Wan's leg...

He and Leia had a bit of a fight about it. He accused her of forgetting about Han. She accused him of playing big brother with her when the truth was, he was only about five minutes older than she was anyway. "Yeah, and remember who told us about that, Leia? It was Obi-Wan. _He was there, when you were born!"_ Luke had pointed out to her with a great deal of frustration. She just gave him one of those famous Withering Leia Stares and stomped back into the gym. Well, it wasn't _his_ fault that he didn't "understand how it was."

And the absolute worst worst part was now that they were orbiting Sullust, there was no way he could contact his father. It would put the entire Fleet in jeopardy. Luke had half a mind to go back to Tatooine and wait there. But the other half of his mind was intent on keeping an eye on Leia and Obi-Wan. He didn't want to accuse Obi-Wan of anything just yet. After all, the Jedi Master was just starting to forget about how wonderful life had been when he was dead. Luke didn't want to upset him with his concerns about Leia's weird infatuation with him yet.

So, he grit his teeth, endured. And then, a wonderful day arrived. His Jedi Master had come up with a new task. Luke was very relieved. This meant for sure that Obi-Wan wasn't returning Leia's feelings. No doubt, she was upset. In fact, she decided to go to Starshine Beach, a popular, very posh resort town on a planet Luke had never heard of. Yeah, she was definitely PMSing, Luke thought.

On a rather tense note, Luke and Obi-Wan left the following day. This time, Luke was flying the _Phoenix._ "Master, where are we headed to, now that we're on the ship and away from prying ears?" Luke asked rather dryly.

"We are headed to Corellia," Obi-Wan answered. "The reason we're going is because your father has a second home there."

"On Han's homeworld? Why?" Luke asked, intrigued. He knew that people as rich as his father had at least two, if not more, homes on different planets. "Are we going to be staying there?"

"I doubt we'd be very welcome there, my Padawan. We're going to get something that Vader has hidden in his Corellian home. Look at this," he said, showing Luke his holopad. It was a picture of what looked like the interior of a living room, with Darth Vader in the foreground. Obi-Wan had the background magnified. "See this artwork he has in the background? Several years ago, your father comissioned the artist Burkle Jadly to design that art. It's almost like a three dimensional mural, abstract. Typical of Jadly's work. Needless to say, Jadly never did another piece of art; as with many of your father's acquaintences, once his job was done, he mysteriously disappeared. And there was a reason for that. The artist made the work specifically to hide something, or things, actually, within the piece."

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"The Jedi Achives. Your father managed to retreive them before the Temple was demolished..." Obi-Wan fell silent for a moment, trying not to dwell on all that had been lost, and instead dwell on what had been salvaged. "Hidden, in plain sight, but on Corellia, known for it's independent attitude for the Empire. The Emperor doesn't visit there, and even if he did, I daresay he doesn't suspect what those twelve blocks in his picture really are."

"Master, probably we can get in, but are we going to actually rip those blocks out of the wall?" Luke asked.

"It shouldn't be necessary; it would be a shame to destroy Burkle Jadly's last great work, and, I really don't want your father to know, at least not yet, that I know he has them. So, we're simply going to copy information from each one. I'm hoping that my password will be enough to unlock as many as possible. Each block was in the care of one of the members of the Jedi Council. If worst came to worst, I suppose we could call Master Yoda and ask him what his password was. Your father's, I most likely could figure out..." Obi-Wan mused.

"Wait a minute! My father was on the Jedi Council?" Luke gasped.

"He certainly was, just as the Clone Wars were ending. And just as the Jedi were ending, too..."

"We are going to make this happen, Master. We _will_ bring the Jedi Order back, and someday, they will truly know their Golden Age. I'm determined. So it means breaking into my father's place and hacking into the Jedi Archives, so be it," Luke said with an eerily similar type of resolve that Obi-Wan had always heard in Anakin's voice, before he'd lost him. Leaning down to knead the muscles of his formerly injured leg, Obi-Wan hoped that he wouldn't do anything to lose this one too.


	8. Connecting

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 8: Connecting, part 1

Luke dropped down from the ventilation shaft through the air exchange silently into a nearly empty room in a high rise building on Corellia. Using the Force, he opened the door and in a near blur, raced to the apartment's front foyer. He deactivated the alarm system with a code he tapped into the keypad. Then, he opened the door for his Master. "Excellent, my Padawan." He walked in, eyeing the living room. It appeared as though his former Padawan's tastes ran to the spare, featuring an uncluttered, open floor plan. The floor was a dark hardwood, polished to a shine, of course. A large area rug of woven Bantha Wool broke up the hardwood look, and a sofa along with one table in front of it sat on top of it. There was a fireplace, which was cold right now. No evidence of a holoprojector. And on the other wall was the artwork by Burkle Jadly. Obi-Wan appoached the artwork, and touched one of the blocks. It shimmered under his fingertips. Luke watched this, and felt a thrill course through him. He looked outside the huge picture window, and gasped.

"Master, this view is unbelievable!" Luke breathed. Indeed, it was; mountains in the far distance, and much closer, a harbor with small passenger boats and lights that poked holes in the twilight. For a moment, it was difficult to imagine someone like Darth Vader living in a place like this. Was that why the bedroom he'd landed in earlier was practically empty?

"No doubt, that view is what costs so much money to live here, Luke," Obi-Wan commented. He kept one eye on his Padawan. The last thing he wanted was for Luke to start getting carried away by the fact that his father was wealthy beyond belief. A view like this on a Core System planet like Corellia costs far more than he cared to know any Jedi was capable of spending. And Luke had that "spending" gene, with the parents he had...

Luke tore his eyes from the view, and looked at the artwork again. "So, these have the Jedi Archives stored in them? How are we going to plug our holopads into them?"

"Happily, they don't need to be plugged in. The blocks will accept a wireless transfer; in fact, it's the only way to tranfer the data. Let's get the first memory card ready to go. I hope we brought enough. And I certainly hope we don't get any interruptions. Here, I've put in the password for my block. Start the download, while I keep watch..." Obi-Wan instructed. Luke took the holopad from it's case and placed it in front of the block Obi-Wan had pointed to. Sure, this was the easy block, because Obi-Wan's password was still good. These others though, were most likely lost forever, since the ones who guarded them were beyond their reach. Luke watched as the files began to transfer. There were thousands of them. There was enough here to take about a thousand years to read, Luke guessed. And to think, this was only the first block!

Luke snuck a look at his chrono. This was taking a really long time. And he suddenly felt a tremor in the Force. He'd felt it before...and it was really close!

"Master..." Luke breathed.

"We're going to have company; I sense him too!" Obi-Wan finished. He ignited his lightsaber and yelled "Just keep downloading, Luke. I'll handle this!"

The front door tot he apartment opened. Vader filled the doorway, but didn't have his lightsaber on. In fact, he sort of leaned in the doorway casually. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

* * *

Vader had been in his quarters in the Imperial Palace. His master wanted him nearby since Prince Xizor's misfortune. Vader began to suspect that his master was beginning to suspect something. The excuse that he had a lot on his mind wasn't going over that well with his Sith master. The truth was, Vader _did_ have a great deal on his mind, but he also found himself dwelling on thoughts that were making him edgy. Uncomfortable. Rebellious, even.

The bond between him and his master was beginning to stifle him. Vader was outgrowing this relationship. And Darth Sidious was growing older, and his power, though the same as it always had been, was not sufficient any longer to control Vader to the extent he wished. Vader's power had grown, and even Sidious had no clue as to what Vader was capable of doing now.

Nervous energy filled Vader. The only thing he could do when he was really this wound up was fix things. He still hadn't lost his knack for fixing things. He'd prowl around the Palace, trying to find things that were broken. When he couldn't find anything there, he looked in the hangar for ships that needed parts replaced. The officers in charge had learned long ago that it was always better to just let Lord Vader tinker around down there without question. In fact, if they could come up with anything challenging, he appreciated it. And it wasn't as though he didn't do a good job fixing the broken parts, repairing broken ships.

If only he could fix what was broken in his life. If only he could fix his family.

The Emperor had come down to the hangar one day to see Vader. The officers in charge promptly departed when the Emperor arrived. Vader was sautering two wires together when Palpatine limped to the Imperial Shuttle that his apprentice was laboring over.

"You know, I never had much of a knack for building things, or making things," he commented. Vader rose from his bent knee. He had nothing to add to that comment, so he simply let the Emperor speak. "The Bothans got their information earlier today. It won't be long before our trap is sprung, and the Rebel Alliance is blown apart."

"And it won't be a moment too soon, either. There are more important things than this petty political nonsense," Vader growled. "I just hope that my son comes around before that happens."

"It is vital that you bring him before me, and soon. Do you understand me, my apprentice? _Vital!"_ his master warned.

"I have told you Master, he will join us or die. I just don't want him to die before he gets a chance to join us," Vader snapped.

"I understand that Prince Xizor's attempts on young Skywalker's life have stopped. Why are you still worried?" the Emperor asked. "I hope that your feelings are clear on this matter. He _must_ be brought before me. He _must_ be turned to the Dark Side. _He must not become a Jedi."_

"Master, it would be impossible for him to become a Jedi. We have seen to the destruction of the Order. We stand in the very space where the Temple once stood. There is no one left to teach Luke the ways of the Force. The only knowledge he has is innate, almost instinctive. Much like I was before I was trained," Vader pointed out.

"Then why do I sense such a disturbance in the Force?" Palaptine demanded.

"I have felt it also, my Master," Vader answered evasively.

"I beleive the boy is growing in his strength. I don't think he's _fumbling_ as much as you say. What happened at Prince Xizor's building a few weeks ago was caused by your son," he said. "I know that what the Underlord of Black Sun says should not be taken very seriously, but for him to report that there was a Jedi with him causes me a great deal of discomfort. _A great deal,_ Lord Vader."

"Who do you think the Jedi is?" Vader asked, almost peevishly.

The Emperor began to pace, slowly tapping his walking stick on the polished floor. "I don't know," he answered almost as peevishly. "But if Luke Skywalker has made contact with a surviving Jedi Knight, he may have convinced him to train him!"

Vader stilled his thoughts. He didn't dare let any thought of what he'd done surface. Instead he thought of Mace Windu, that fool whose doom was set from the day he learned the Jedi were losing their powers. "Vader, don't be silly. Master Windu is long dead. We saw to that. Perhaps you are right; there are no more Jedi around that young Skywalker could contact. Still, I want you to go now. Double your efforts to find your son. I will supervise the final phase of the construction of the Death Star myself. I want him brought to me, Vader. Is that perfectly clear?"

"As you wish, my Master..."

The Emperor limped out the way he limped in. Vader felt a pang of guilt. He shouldn't be so nasty to someone who was obviously ill. He picked up a tool, determined not to think about his troubles any longer, at least for the rest of the day. He could start tracking down his son tomorrow, couldn't he? His comlink beeped. Vader looked at the contact number, and it wasn't Obi-Wan's comlink, or anyone else he knew. It was, however, a number based on Corellia.

Puzzled, he answered, "Vader here."

A hologram appeared of a young man he had never seen before. He had a uniform on, but he wasn't any sort of Imperial officer. "Lord Vader, this is Agent Corran Horn from CorSec. We have strong reason to believe there's been a security breach in your apartment at Harbor Tower. We received a video stream a short time ago from the security company who had installed the surveillence cameras in your apartment."

"Agent Horn, who broke into my apartment?" Vader asked breathlessly.

"We got no id's from the very brief visuals we grabbed from the camera stream. All we could determine is that there were two human males..."

"Ah, I know exactly who they are, Agent Horn. Don't try to apprehend them yourself; they are both Jedi Adepts. I will handle this myself," Vader instructed him.

"Please make sure you contact CorSec when you arrive on Corellia, Lord Vader. We will be more than happy to assist you in apprehending these criminals." The young CorSec agent signed off. _Sure,_ Vader thought grouchily, _that was more like a threat that he'd better get CorSec's approval before apprehending two Jedi Knights. The fools!_ Well, he had his ways of ducking even the famed Corellian Security.

* * *

Luke's heart pounded as he watched Obi-Wan slowly raise his blue lightsaber in a defense position. All thoughts of watching files download left him. "Father!" he blurted out as Vader walked into his apartment.

"Or should I even ask? I've been wondering whether you'd ever get around to seeing my Jadly original in person, Obi-Wan," Vader said as he sauntered over to the beautiful abstract design covering the Jedi Archives like branches of a leafy tree. Vader touched one of the blocks with his gloved hand, then added, "I'm sure you saw that silly fluff article years ago, Obi-Wan. I was so hoping you had read it. Or at least, someone from the Jedi Council. I knew that Order 66 hadn't gotten every last one of you; I had wondered if the Jedi Archives would be enough to lure you out. It must have killed you to know they were in my possession..." he taunted.

"Better in your possession than destroyed forever," Luke pointed out. Vader turned to face Luke. "I have quite a few things that I've wanted to say to you for some time now. But the most important thing is this; I see proof in front of me, here, that you have great regrets about what you'd done!" Luke pointed to the Jadly artwork. To his mind, it was proof positive that Vader has it in him to defy the Emperor.

"Luke, my dear son..." Vader sighed, pacing around his sofa like a great black sabercat. "Oddly enough, my master and I were talking of you just hours ago. He's quite keen on meeting you."

Luke straghtened his back. "No doubt. But I will not turn to the Dark Side, Father. I will not become a slave, like you have been all your life, to the shadow. And I will _never_ become the slave of a Sith, like you have." Luke eyed his father's gloves, how his fists tightened in tension. "In fact," he ventured, "I think you know this. And in fact, I don't think that you really want me to turn..."

"You stop this dangerous talk now!" Vader hissed, drawing away from Luke. He turned on Obi-Wan. "I see you just can't wait to get your revenge on me for drawing you into the living realm again, my former master. You want a piece of me? You just give it your best shot!"

Obi-Wan held his lightsaber steady and said with a smirk, "I didn't think you had any more body parts to spare, Vader."

"I daresay you have much more to lose than do I, Obi-Wan," Vader countered.

Obi-Wan smirked. "If you spent even half the time polishing your lightsaber skills as you do polishing your helmet, Vader, I'd be a bit more worried!"

Luke watched in horror as Vader's red lightsaber hummed to life almost instantly. "Father, no!" he yelled just as Vader began twirling and spinning the lightsaber around his helmet, filling the room with the deadly sound of his Sith blade. Luke held his breath. Vader stopped with the right arm tucked back, horizontal by his head, and the left extended outward.

To Luke's utter shock, Obi-Wan smiled lightly. "I stand corrected. It appears as though you have been practicing after all."

"Oh, so I did it right this time?" Vader asked. Was Luke imagining it, or was Vader actually looking for Obi-Wan's _approval?_ Unfortunately, from Obi-Wan's expression, Luke could judge right away that he wasn't totally happy.

"Well," he said tightly, "let's just say that it's better than before."

_"What?"_ Vader snarled. Then he turned to Luke. "You see? You see what I had to deal with?"

Luke's mouth just hung open. His father had just dazzled him with some sort of lightsaber finesse, and Obi-Wan wasn't approving? And was that his father _whining?_ He had this mad urge to laugh. Instead, he swallowed it down and said instead, "Are you going to teach me how to do that?"

Both his father and his Jedi master said in unison, "Of course!" Obi-Wan then added, "Naturally, I'll be teaching you, since your father seems to have trouble remembering how to do it."

"So, you admit now that you are the better one to teach my son?" Vader asked as he shut his lightsaber off.

Obi-Wan shut his off as well, but still held onto it. "That was not exactly what I was implying. I still beleive that Master Yoda would have been the better candidate to train Luke."

Vader took a step backward and began prowling the room again. "Well, since he's with you, and since _I_ said so, things remain as they are." Just then, there was a loud knocking at Vader's door.

"This is CorSec, open up in there now!"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, Luke frowned, and Vader groaned. "Agent Horn, is that you?"

"Lord Vader, I thought I made it very clear that any apprehension must be done with CorSec agents present!" Vader opened the door to a dark haired young man with a serious look on his face.

"And I thought I told you that I was to deal with them alone," Vader said crisply. Just as Agent Horn opened his mouth to protest, Vader added, "Since you're here, however, you may assist me with the weight of CorSec behind me." He pointed at Luke. "I want that one to turn over his comlink right now."

"No way," Obi-Wan said, flashing the lightsaber once again. Agent Horn had his blaster out just as quickly. "You have little chance of successfully shooting me with that clumsy weapon, and I would not like to see you get harmed. You're only doing your job."

"All it takes is one shot, sir. Last I heard, blasters kill Jedi just as much as they kill anyone else," Horn answered back calmly.

Luke made a quick assessment of the situation. He dug his comlink out of his pocket and handed it to his father. "Thank you. I'm glad someone around here is capable of being reasonable," Vader said lightly as he took a glance at the comlink. Luke watched him turn it on, look at it for a moment, then to his great surprise, handed it back to Luke. "Now, Agent Horn, I think we'll leave these two here. It's not like there's much of anything they can steal. Although I am rather partial to the bantha wool rug..."

Agent Horn's jaw dropped. "These two broke into your apartment. They need to be arrested!"

"Now, you can go ahead and do that if you wish. I daresay, they won't be in your custody for very long. And besides, I got what I wanted out of them. Maybe, if they hang around here long enough, they'll get their fill of the Jadly and leave me in peace. Just make certain you two lock up before you leave. May the Force be with you both." Vader swept out.

"Could someone please explain what just went on here?" Agent Horn demanded.

Luke grinned. "It was Jedi business, beyond CorSec's scope. Don't worry; I'm sure we'll be seeing eachother again. But for now, we've got work to do..." Agent Horn frowned deeply, then left the apartment as well.

"Luke! The rebellion is in terrible danger!" Obi-Wan gasped as soon as Horn closed the door behind him.

"No it isn't. My father wanted only one number off my comlink," Luke began.

"Of course! Princess Leia!" Obi-Wan winced. He started to pace back and forth. "He can't afford to contact her. We wanted to keep her identity still secret from the Emperor!"

"We have to trust that Vader will keep her safe. So far, he's had her in his custody twice, and she's still no closer to being discovered than before," Luke pointed out.

"Luke! How can we possibly trust him?" Obi-Wan argued.

"Because," Luke answered, bending down to pick a peice of crumpled flimsy off the floor, "my father doesn't have the agenda we seem to think he has. Look at this!" He handed the flimsy to Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master's eyes widened in shock.

"Luke! He's given us the passwords to the Archive blocks!"

* * *

Sorry guys, I had to just kind of throw this on. I'll go and fix up some stuff ASAP. 


	9. Connections part 2

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 9: Connnections, Part 2

Half a galaxy away, Leia sat at a small glass topped table with a large pretty drink in hand. She should have made this getaway with Winter, she thought unhappily. Being by herself in the hotel lounge was the epitome of lame. Not that she hadn't enjoyed the sunbathing. Not that she didn't desperately need time to think. It's just that being by yourself the whole time was lame. This past month had been tough. She was nearly killed by a she-bitch droid, kidnapped by one of the most notorious crime bosses in the Empire, and found out that her soulmate was actually her twin brother!

But on one happy note, Luke did bring his Jedi Master with him.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was, without a doubt, the true reason for her being so unhinged. Was Luke right? Had she already forgotten about Han? The first time she saw him, she had been more affected than when she'd first seen Prince Xizor, even with the Falleen's strange ability with pheromes. Whe she healed him, not only was he finding out just how far advanced her powers with the Force were, but he was finding out who she was, on the inside. Leia knocked back the drink. No wonder he backed off!

But she couldn't help how she felt. The more she tried to put him out of her mind, the more she thought of him. She even seemed to see him across the room. A man with red hair, but no beard. She had an urge to buy the man a drink. She watched for a few moments, then he glanced up her way. He nodded his head and lifted his drink. She watched as he walked over a few moments later.

"Well, what's a class act like you doing all by herself here?" the man wondered aloud. He didn't sound like Obi-Wan, Leia thought with disappointment.

"What's your name?" Leia smiled.

"Darren, and you would be?" he asked smoothly.

"Leia," she answered. "Great weather here this time of year, isn't it?"

She and Darren talked about some things, nothing serious. Darren was smooth, a bit on the sophisticated side. A good talker. Leia found that her drink got done pretty quickly once he arrived. He offered to take it back up to the bar and get it refilled. She gave it to him.

While she waited, her head buzzed a bit. The drink had been the kind of alcoholic beverage that was so delicious you barely tasted the alcohol at all. She rarely drank; ever since she'd joined the Rebellion, she always needed to have her wits about her. But just this once, she was letting her defenses down... Darren returned with the drinks. They continued talking about this and that.

Leia felt herself sway slightly. Damn, she should have eaten something with these drinks! She tried to keep her eyelids open; she didn't want Darren to think she was bored. "Say, Leia, you seem a little smashed. Maybe I should take you back up to your room?"

She fought the urge to put her head down on the tabletop. "No, no. I'll be alright," she told him. More like told herself. Chewbacca could always help her to her room. Better him than this fellow she barely knew. _Wait a minute!_ she thought in panic, _you left Chewie back with the Fleet. Didn't want to drag him to the beach!_ Well, there was no use in trying to call Chewie on her comlink. Darren was able to easily lift her from her seat; she had so little strength to fight him.

Through the haze, Leia managed to say one word. _"Drugged."_

"Now, what room are you in?" he asked her, still nicely. Still smoothly. Leia couldn't remember her room number anyway, even if she was inclined to tell him what it was. The lounge began to spin wildly, around and around. Until it stopped on a tall male figure with a pitch black Imperial flightsuit on, along with the mask Imp pilots always wear.

Imperial Flightsuit strode over to Darren. "Excuse me, young man. Where are you taking my daughter?" he demanded. Leia found enough strength to look up in shock. She knew that voice! _What the hell was Vader doing here?_

"Huh...Your daughter? I thought she was alone!" Darren protested.

"Oh, I'll just bet you did! You just roofed my daughter, didn't you?" Vader growled.

"N..No sir! Please!" Darren yelled. Vader picked Darren up by his neck and tossed him into the bar itself, sending a row of stool scattering, and no doubt putting Darren in traction for quite some time.

Leia felt herself now being picked up by Vader. "Leia, keep trying to block the effects of the drug. Use the Force! Now, let's get you back to your room," he told her quietly as he strode out into the hotel lobby. Leia was getting quite a few stares from other guests, but Vader paid them absolutely no heed.

"What'reyoudoinhere?" she slurred.

"Never mind that right now. Just get in the refresher." He put her on the floor inside the refresher, right next to the commode. Leia turned and looked into his mask, and could just see the outline of his eyes under the dark visor. She made a "blech" kind of face. "Better out than in, Princess."

Leia knew he was right, so she stared down into the water. It helped her to visualize the poison being filtered out of her blood as it passed through the Force. She knew it was working; it was filling her stomach. It was a shame; that was a really great drink... She pushed her long hair back off her face so it wouldn't fall into the bowl. And then, nasty black stuff came up...

Needless to say, once that was over with, Leia was feeling better, though the taste in her mouth was wretched. And then she realized that Vader had been holding her hair back the whole time. "Thank you." She flushed, made a wincing face, and then he helped her stand up.

"Are you alright now?" Vader asked her.

"Yes, thank you for getting me away from that jerk," Leia answered. She sunk down into one of the chairs in the sitting area of the suite. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to catch up with you. After all, I _had_ wanted you on my Star Destroyer, but you decided to cut out with that gambler. Then, I catch a glimpse of you on Coruscant, but you and Luke took off so fast, and I was busy..."

"Busy helping us escape Xizor. How did you know to come there? You know, forget about that. There are so many more important things I have to talk to you about. Like why you didn't tell me about my brother. And why did you cut his hand off?"

Vader gave her a keen look. "You know that Luke is your brother? That could only mean that he told you what happened on Bespin. I didn't know about Luke when I told you the truth accidentally. It's ironic; the very day I tell you the truth, he came into both our lives! And as far as cutting his hand off, he's just damned lucky he didn't manage to cut my arm off, or I really would have been angry..."

"Oh, _please!_ This 'Vader the Victim' routine is about to induce more vomiting..." Leia said very dryly.

"Princess, don't take it out on me that you've been acting like a dumbass ever since you left Bespin! Don't you think I know that, if you're really drunk, that is, that fellow who just roofed you looked a bit like Obi-Wan Kenobi? What happened to your space bum?" Vader snapped back.

"That's it! I'm sure you found out where I was by forcing out of Luke somehow! But you have absolutely no right to butt in my life! You're the absolute last person in the galaxy that I would talk to about my _love life!"_ Leia yelled, getting out of her chair, and then gripping the arms for support because she got dizzy.

Vader laughed that comment off. "I'm afraid that you will just have to get used to the fact that Darth Vader is your father, just like Luke had to get used to it."

Leia steadied herself. "No, you're not just Darth Vader. Yes, I know you didn't tell me, but Luke did. He told me the truth! That you're really Anakin Skywalker too. Yes...just like a split personality. Vader, the mean, power hungry control freak was the one who froze _my space bum_ in carbonite. And Anakin Skywalker was the man who I just saw downstairs in the lounge. The one who just helped me in the refresher."

Vader sighed. "Oh, Leia, this is very disappointing. I had hoped for sure that you wouldn't get on that same kick that your brother is on. You know the one: that I'm really not a bad guy after all. I was really hoping I could count on you to keep believing that I'm EEEVILLLL."

In spite of her outrage, in spite of her throbbing head, Leia had to smile at that. "You are such a piece of work. It's going to take more than Luke's words to convince me one way, and it's going to take more than your words to convince me the other."

"Princess, I mean it. I'm a Darth. A Dark Lord of the Sith. One who embraces the darkness, uses it instead of the light. One who recognizes the power that dwells where people often don't see it. There is no use trying to convince me to go back to being a Jedi. To only living half of my potential. I can still help people, in fact, I'm more well-equipped to help them than I ever was as a Jedi Knight." He got up from his seat, gazed out Leia's window at the moon that shimmered off the ocean. "There is no use for light without darkness. The Jedi Order never really understood this. That is why they all perished in the end; they were so blinded by the light that darkness overcame them and they never saw it coming."

"Luke wants to become a Jedi in the worst way. And what do you do? You go and give him a Jedi master to train him. I think that the darkness has now confused you," Leia said.

"No, I'm not confused, Leia. I admit that bringing Obi-Wan back to the living realm was impulsive. but Luke needed to be trained. In fact, I'm quite surprised that you haven't started any kind of Jedi training as well," Vader pointed out.

"Maybe Obi-Wan could train me," Leia said excitedly.

"Like hell he is, Leia! What are you hoping he'll train you to do, hmm?" Vader asked unkindly. Leia started to feel a flush cross her face. "Trust me, him training you would not even be that interesting, not that I'd ever permit it anyway. He's got one Padawan already. If he wants to stick to his precious Jedi Code, he won't take you on to train you anyway. I don't even think he'd take you on any other way either. You'd be better off trying to 'train' with the space bum in carbonite..."

"If you think he doesn't like me, than why are you so worried?" Leia shot back.

Vader growled. "Leia, you'd better stop this now! Any relationship you have with him would be all one sided, and maybe, just maybe, I'd rather not have you go through that kind of disappointment!"

"Nope, you're worried. What if Obi-Wan _does_ like me?" Leia argued.

"Has he ever shown you any interest?" Vader sneered.

Leia felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of cold water into her stomach. "Just go! Leave me alone!" she pouted.

"Fine, I'll go, but I'm warning you, and you can pass it along to your brother as well, that you both need to get real. About me, and about Obi-Wan Kenobi as well!" Vader stomped off.

* * *

Only in the very early morning was Tatooine this chilly. The first of the two suns had a half hour yet to rise. But that was what Boba Fett preferred as he landed his ship, _Slave IV,_ in Mos Espa. When it's this early, most of the low lifes were living low. And Jabba's outrageous bounty on Han Solo had attracted virtually every cretin in the Outer Rim territories to chase him. It took _one year and three months_ to get Solo back to Tatooine. Unreal! Catching him the first time had been such a snap! Bringing him here had become an epic drama!

A few droid attendants helped him unload the precious cargo. A block of carbonite, on repulsor lifts, with a human male enclosed inside. Fett leaned down and growled, "Even frozen like this, you're more trouble than you're worth!" Then he looked up, and through his narrow Mandolorian visor, he could see that something was definitely different at the spaceport than the last time he was here. "Droid! Why was it so difficult for me to get docking space here? Why is it so _crowded?"_

The only droid that had any vocal abilities at all looked more like a rusting vaporator than a droid. The metallic voice answered very simply, "Boonta Eve."

"Oh, dammit, you've got to be kidding! Of course; I forgot, it is Boonta Eve this weekend," Fett groaned and peered down at the hibernating Han Solo. "Looks like this is going to be one bang-up weekend, Solo. I hope Jabba's not too preoccupied to pay me for dragging your sorry ass all over the galaxy!"

Boba Fett loaded up his weapons: his Mandolorian darts in his cuffs, his rifle and rocket pack strapped onto his back, his hips both burdened with a few more blasters. He had no idea what kind of trouble he might run into between Mos Espa and Jabba's Palace. And sure enough, he barely walked out of the spaceport to try and rent some sort of vehicle to transport his cargo when he spotted some swoop bikers leaning on the outer wall. He eyed them very carefully for signs of consciousness. He could smell the alcohol through his mask. So when he turned around to leave them, he was mildly surprised that some of them sprang to life after all.

Fett's blaster was far quicker than the chains and steel bars that his enemies flung at him. A few went down, the others had blasters of their own. So Fett activated his backpack rockets, and took to the air. But he wasn't keen on staying up there too long; if one of these morons got ahold of Solo after all this trouble, he'd be kicking himself from here to the Wilds.

But then, an amazing thing happened. One of the swoop bikers, a human male with long dark hair tied back out of his face and slightly cleaner clothes than the others started blasting the others into oblivion! At first, Boba Fett remained above the fray as steadily as he could, figuring this one turned on the others. But he noticed the methodical way he fired, the position of the blaster in his hand. And he noticed, as he dove down, that this blaster wasn't one of those pieces of scrap metal you buy in junk shops. There was far more to this swoop biker than he'd first thought.

The strange biker dashed off into the spaceport again. Fett gave chase, but found he didn't even go to where Solo's carbon frozen form still lay. Well, the bounty hunter thought, he'd ask all the questions he wanted to later, but now he had to deliver his prize. And he had just the thing. Now that it's owner was dead, one of those swoop bikes would work perfectly. Boba Fett took the bike, and one of the chains out of one of the dead biker's hands, and latched Han Solo to it. He could drag the block on it's repulsor lifts across the steadily brightening sands of the desert just fine. Boba Fett was nothing if not resourceful...

Little did Fett know that the mysterious biker followed him. After all, he knew where the bounty hunter was going. And he had every interest in making certain that the carbonite block made it inside Jabba's Palace. And once the twin suns had both finally risen, Boba Fett approached the front door of the Palace, which had once been (and still technically was) the Sacred Temple of the B'Omarr Monks. The mysterious biker's eyes followed Fett as the large door rose and admitted him and Han Solo.

"Lord Vader, do you copy? This is Jix. Repeat, do you copy?" Jix held the comlink in the palm of his hand, and Vader's helmet appeared in a hologram. "Lord Vader, the womp rat has gotten his cheese."

"Excellent work, Jix. And it's about damned time too! Not a moment too soon. Now, you must go to Corellia, Jix. Check the security system in my apartment; I know you just _love_ doing that kind of thing."

"I guess this means I can't stay for this Boonta Eve thing," Jix sighed.

"Trust me, you're not missing anything. On Tatooine, they can't even set off any fireworks like they do on Nal Hutta," Vader said lightly, from his suite in the Starshine Beach resort, where a few rooms away, Leia sat stewing in her own juices. He signed off from his spy on Tatooine.

He'd stay here long enough to see what Leia does. No doubt, she has agents watching Jabba's Palace from every angle. How long would she wait before taking her brother's X-wing back to Tatooine? How long would it take for her to figure out she's only got some silly infatuation with Obi-Wan Kenobi once her space bum is finally freed?


	10. Songs of Right and Wrong

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 10: Songs of Right and Wrong

Luke switched off Artoo's video recorder and took a steadying breath. He was dressed in the tans and browns of the traditional Jedi, standing in Obi-Wan's sitting room, making a recording for Jabba the Hutt. His plan was to have Artoo and Threepio infiltrate Jabba's Palace. His sister and Chewie have gone missing, and Luke hoped that they haven't gone ahead and tried to rescue Han without him and the others.

He had Artoo replay what he'd just recorded. Luke could barely believe that it was him in the recording. That old Luke Skywalker, the one who hung out at Toshi Station, blasted through Beggar's Canyon in a beat-up T-16 and dreamed of going to the Imperial Academy was still there, but he was standing aside, and letting the Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, shine through instead. He had told Obi-Wan that he was getting tired of hiding the fact that he was training to become a Jedi. To Luke's way of thinking, he was fulfilling his destiny. So he made the choice to start wearing the more traditional Jedi garb. Maybe he was hoping he'd send his father a message as well. What his father had destroyed, or at the very least played a large role in destroying, Luke was determined to rebuild. Maybe there would be changes made, the Jedi Order of the future surely would not be exactly the same as the old, but his intention was to keep as much as possible in the spirit of the Jedi of the long dead past.

Luke left Artoo in the sitting room, put on his deep brown robe, and ventured out into the night. He had no concern of Tusken Raiders appearing; if any came, he could certainly deal with them. He stared up at the stars. Han was his friend, has saved him many times, and needed his help now. But once Han is out of Jabba's clutches, he agreed to go with Obi-Wan back to Dagobah. He owed Yoda that much, and Obi-Wan needed to get himself sorted out as well. Luke just hoped that by going back to the uncharted planet, that he wasn't inadvertently putting Yoda in danger of an encounter with Vader. Yoda could handle Vader just fine, Obi-Wan assured Luke a while back. But Yoda was so old now...

"Are you done?" Obi-Wan asked Luke, following him outside.

"Yes, Master. I just hope that Jabba can be reasoned with. Unless he's intent on making Han suffer as much as possible, in which case, there's always plan B," Luke sighed.

"There's more to this than we originally planned, and I know I said I wasn't going to interfere, but, in light of what I've just learned, I think it would be wiser if I did," Obi-Wan told Luke.

"Not that I'm not glad, Master, but what changed your mind?" Luke asked.

"When you first told me that your friend had been frozen in carbonite, I thought that was a bit odd. Very well, more than a bit odd. And so, on a whim, I did a search of the Archives. It seems your father did more reading of the Archives than I'd given him credit for. Carbon Freezing was a method of _imprisoning Jedi!_ But there had been much debate over it's safety. I _knew_ I'd read something about it once a long time ago, while I was still a Padawan myself. The Jedi Council abolished the practice many ages ago, but though it might be gone, it's not forgotten. At least, not by your father. Oh, Anakin..." Obi-Wan's voice trailed off, and for a moment, he was lost in thought.

"But Master, what could this possibly mean for Han? If the Jedi Council thought that carbon freezing was too much for a Jedi to take, then what possible hope could Han have? According to Leia's spies, Han was still frozen as Boba Fett dragged him to Jabba's Palace!" Luke asked.

"That is why I've changed my mind, Luke. If Captain Solo is alive at all, he's going to need more help than you can offer him at this point in your training, and besides, you'll have Leia and Chewbacca to aid as well."

"So, you truly think that Leia's already gone to Jabba's Palace? I don't know why, but she's unable to be reached through the Force." Luke frowned. He eyed Obi-Wan, noted his discomfort at the mention of Leia's name.

"She must be blocking you from her mind for some reason. Ever since she came back from her trip, she's been acting oddly. I hope that Vader hasn't influenced her in some way," the Jedi Master murmured. Luke started to think that it was guilt that was making Leia act so strangely. She decided to prove her dedication to Han by going off to rescue him by herself. Which meant, to Luke at least, that her feelings for Obi-Wan were getting more out of control. His thoughts were straying into an area where he had no desire to go, and thankfully, his comlink buzzed. This had to be Lando...

"Talk to me Lando," Luke started.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I heard a few rumors that Jabba had just paid a big bounty to someone who had brought in Chewie..." Lando reported.

"Damn. Where are you?" Luke asked.

"I've sort of taken one of the guards' places. I could make a search of the holding cells."

"Lando, be careful! Or you'll wind up in one of them too!" Luke warned him.

"Well, even if I do, at least I'll be better off than Han. He's still in carbonite!"

"Good Skies!" Obi-Wan, who had been listening more intently than Luke had thought, suddenly exclaimed. "Do we even know if the poor man is still alive?"

"No way of knowing for certain, since all I've been hearing is rumors."

"Who have you been talking to?" Luke asked.

"I've been talking to some of the B'Omarr Monks. As you might know, Jabba took over this Palace about 50 or so years ago, but it always used to be the Sacred Temple of the B'Omarr Monks. Apparently, Jabba doesn't consider them a threat. Well, there's quite a few of them around down here, and they are no happier about Jabba being here now than they ever were. Oh, and they gave me the heads up on something else. Tomorrow, on Boonta Eve, they plan on singing the Sacred Song. It's supposed to only happen once every 150 or so years, and people from all over the galaxy are making the pilgrimage here. That's why the spaceport was so crowded. That's why there were no hotels or other lodging available. Jabba's Palace is going to be inundated with religious pilgrims by tomorrow afternoon."

"Well, that's just great! More to worry about. Although, having loads of people around might serve as the perfect cover up for our operations. Lando, just make sure that if Leia and Chewie are there, that they are safe. The droids are on their way, and I'll be there by tomorrow afternoon, along with the rest of the pilgrims. May the Force be with you," Luke finished, signing off and glancing at Obi-Wan. "I can't beleive I'd forgotten all about that. People usually know years in advance of when the Monks are going to sing next! I'll bet you're going to want to hear them too, Master."

"I have heard it's supposed to be this wonderful, uplifting experience, but believe it or not, I've never been one to succumb to fits of _religious rapture,"_ Obi-Wan answered wryly. "Knowing of the Force and using it to serve goodness and justice is enough for me."

Luke began to smile and say something about religion and the Force, but then, all his thoughts flew from his mind. A feeling that was becoming more familiar every time he felt it had sent a tingle at the base of his skull. His hands also had the tingle. "Oh no, it can't be..."

"What do you sense, my Padawan?" Obi-Wan asked, as though he were asking a review question in preparation for a test.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Luke protested.

No need for Obi-Wan to ask who Luke meant. "Well, I suppose I could call him and find out, though that would be just redundant, in my opinion, since he must have found out that your friend has been brought to Jabba the Hutt. So, we know that your father is here. He knows we are here. Part of the problem, once your powers begin to grow, is that it becomes more difficult to hide yourself from other Force-Sensitives. I don't know whether he plans on coming out here; I sincerely hope he doesn't."

"Master, do you fear that I'm going to end up going with him?" Luke asked.

Obi-Wan was taken aback by Luke's forthright question. "Luke, I know that Vader is trying very hard to get you to turn to the Dark Side. I'm not sure how his recent actions, especially giving you the Jedi Archives, is supposed to accomplish this, unless it's all just to undercut me," he observed, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"You mean, you don't think he really wants any sort of relationship with me or Leia, it's just about you and him and your endless animosity?" Luke asked, wishing almost instantly that he didn't say it, but it just came out.

Obi-Wan faced Luke straight on and replied, "Luke, I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to tell you that I believe that he wants desperately to destroy any relationship you and I might have. Once the bond between us is severed, he will bring you to the Emperor, and will make you his slave, just as he has been for over twenty years."

Luke smirked then, which surprised Obi-Wan even more. "Then, I'm glad that my father's here. Let him see me like this. _This,"_ Luke said, fingering the sleeve of his brown Jedi robes, "might give him a clue about how much _progress_ he's made."

In spite of his grave doubts, Obi-Wan felt his spirit lift.

* * *

Jabba was most displeased. First, Boba Fett arrived with Han Solo. That in and of itself was not what annoyed Jabba, of course. It was the fact that he'd now have to pay Fett that terrific sum of money. Jabba and money did not part ways without pain. A mere few hours later, another bounty hunter arrived, this time with Han Solo's longtime first mate and companion, Chewbacca. This bounty hunter claimed he was Boussh, but Jabba knew there was trickery involved; Boussh had been killed several months prior by Black Sun.

Sure enough, the bounty hunter was a fake. A human female. Could she be Han Solo's woman? The thought entertained Jabba greatly as he had her don some more "suitable" attire for her new station in life, as Jabba's human female slave! Stupid female even tried to release Solo from his carbonite casing! Obviously, she didn't know fine art when she saw it!

He'd given her to Boba Fett for the night. What displeased Jabba was that she threatened to kill him, _and he backed off!_ Was his entire palace getting overrun by fools? He munched irritably at his morning meal, wondering what might be next.

By 0850 hours, he found out what was next. Two droids, one an interperter protocol droid and the other a stout astromech droid had marched right up to his palace. His majordomo, Bib Fortuna, that T'wileki fool, had told him they were a gift from a Jedi Knight. Jabba wasn't interested in Jedi Knights. He just wanted to know why there were so many damned people starting to accumulate around his Palace!

The final outrage, for Jabba anyway, was finding out just why those people were out there. From the finest dressed nobility to the most impoverished beggars of all races, they lined up hoping to hear those eight-legged robotic freaks, with whom he graciously shared _his_ Palace, sing! How does a brain in a bowl manage to sing? Fortuna, unhelpful idiot he was, pointed out that apparently, that seemed to be what everyone else outside wanted to know, too. Jabba roared, spooking the female in his sluggish lap and knocking the useless T'wilek over.

That human female recovered, though she didn't let it on. Her ability to sense the Force was getting more keen. She could sense Luke. She could even sense Vader. Now she just had to attune herself a bit more to Obi-Wan Kenobi... _How can I start thinking about Obi-Wan while Han was still stuck in the carbonite?_ she chastised herself. After all this time, he was still frozen in that dreadful second, right after she'd told him she loved him! Hopefully, Jabba would get too distracted with all the religious pilgrims outside his door, and she'd make her move. She'd make sure she made it up to Han after all this was over...

* * *

The local media had broadcast a story about Darth Vader. He has made the pilgrimage to Tatooine to hear the Monks sing the Sacred Song. He was staying at the governor's palace (which was outside Mos Espa, but in the opposite direction from Jabba's Palace) for the Boonta Eve weekend. Luke just hoped that his father didn't have any ideas about interfering. Could be too much to hope for, but if Leia and Chewie were in danger, he couldn't afford to wait until his father left to rescue them. He would not leave all of them in Jabba's clutches because of his father's bad timing.

* * *

Late that afternoon, the Palace doors opened, andseveral eight-legged droid looking creatures emerged,accompanied by a few humanoids that wore the garb of the Unenlightened. The pilgrims were rapt with attention, clamoring for the Song to get started. The Unelightened, the ones who still were able to speak in the low tongue of living beings, told them that their eight-legged counterparts have heard the calling, and were preparing to Sing to the Heavens. So preoccupied with them were the Monks, that Luke slipped inside without being noticed.

Obi-Wan wove his way through the pilgrims converging ever closer to the palace doors. He wanted to get as close as possible to the Monks, since most likely, _if_ Vader came here, he'd be automatically escorted to the front. He was able to use a slight variation of the Jedi mind trick to make people move aside without causing any fuss or bother. The way of the Jedi was often so subtle, people were lulled into thinking that the Force was not present. But the Force is ever present, a constant presence, and no amount of singing sacred songs or prayer made it _more_ present for him than it was before.

He'd passed this belief on the Anakin, and he'd always _seemed_ to agree with that belief. So why then was he making his arrival (with stormtroopers in tow) to listen to a group of fanatics sing to another bunch of fanatics? Vader appeared to ignore everyone else there, though there was quite a stir among the faithful behind him. He settled in a kneeling position with his deep black robes spread around him on the sand.

Obi-Wan settled right next to him, close enough so his Jedi robes covered Vader's. "Please don't tell me you're here to pray for your soul," he murmured next to his helmet. The stormtroopers moved forward, but Vader waved them back with a flick of his gloved hand.

Then, he stared straight ahead at the monks, gave a metallic sigh, and said, "Well, I'm certainly not praying for yours Obi-Wan."

"Whatever you're up to, I'm going to stop you. This play you've been making for your children's favor doesn't convince me in the least. Luke will not be turned. _I'll_ turn to the Dark Side before he does, I swear it!" Obi-Wan vowed.

"You fool. You already have turned to the Dark Side. You've felt the sheer power of your rage and anger before," Vader began.

"No, I haven't!"

"You know you have," Vader continued serenely. "When your beloved Jedi Master lay dying in that power station, with a Sith apprentice looming over him in victory, you felt it."

"Stop this!" Obi-Wan gasped.

"When you sliced him in half..."

"No!"

"When you saw that holo of me, and what I'd done in the Jedi Temple. When you sliced into me on Mustafar..."

Obi-Wan stood up and despite the fact that there were thousands of people around him, he bellowed, "You're wrong! That was righteous anger, not the Dark Side!"

"There is no difference, Obi-Wan. Anger is anger. A Jedi feels no anger, not even righteous anger." Vader never raised his voice, gave no indication that he was in any way disturbed. But Obi-Wan was shaking.

"He will not be turned, Vader. And I thank you for reminding me of the Jedi Code so deftly." Obi-Wan stalked off. He took a few deep breaths after taking leave of his former Padawan's presence. _How dare he compare my rage after Qui-Gon's death to his own! That just goes to show how little concept of right and wrong Darth Vader has! I've failed him so badly!_ Obi-Wan found a place, between stony ledges, where he could simply crouch, hide, and contemplate. He only needed a few moments to compose himself...

That was when the Monks began their song. The sound carried through the dry Tatooine air like waves that Obi-Wan could actually feel through him. He couldn't move, couldn't recall what he'd been thinking about two mintues earlier. All that mattered now was the song. Each eerie, yet oddly comforting note brought Obi-Wan further out of the corner he'd been in. He seemed to move upwards, higher and higher.

Odd, he felt almost like he was dead again!

The notes finally ebbed away, and Obi-Wan's feet touched rock again. His hands felt the stone at his sides. The Force thrummed through them, and him. Had he been _flying?_ Surely it was just a trick of the mind! But nevertheless, he recalled that he had work to do, helping his Padawan rescue his friend at long last.

* * *

Luke saw no one inside the main throne room of Jabba's lair. He looked to his left, and finally saw Han. He swallowed. His carbon frozen form was hanging on Jabba's wall, with a spotlight shining down on it. Like wall art. Luke's stomach turned sour. He sensed Obi-Wan's approach.

"Master, I'm here," he murmured aloud, sending the thought to his Jedi master at the same time. The Song of the B'Omarr Monks would take a few moments for the others to recover from. If ony Han had heard it too. Obi-Wan appeared at his side. "I hate this, Master."

"Let's get him out of here at last, Luke," Obi-Wan said. He pressed a button on the side of the block. The whole block slid off the wall with a thud. With a deep breath, Luke pressed another button, to start the thawing process. As the carbonite started to dissolve around Han, all Luke could do was hold his breath. Did he sense life in his friend?

Once enough carbonite melted, Han's form careened forward, and Luke caught him. Obi-Wan drew much closer as they lowered Han to the sandy floor. "He's alive!" Luke gasped with relief, even though Han was in no good condition, shivering as he was. "It's alright now Han, we've got you out of there!"

Han struggled to speak, "L..Luke?"

"It's me Han."

"Where's Leia? Is sh..she alright?" Han asked.

"We're getting you, and Leia, and Chewbacca, and Lando _and_ the droids out of here very soon," Obi-Wan assured him. He only dimly recalled Han Solo from their brief interaction a few years ago. But he felt very badly for him right now.

"I..can't see, why can't I see?" Han asked shakily.

"That is from the carbon freezing. It will return to normal soon, Captain Solo," Obi-Wan answered. Luke looked dismayed. There was more to this carbon freezing than he'd originally thought.

"Who? Who are you?" Han demanded.

"This is my Jedi Master," Luke answered. There would be time enough later to explain this all to Han.

"Your _Jedi master?_ But..how? Oh, are you...Yoda?" Han asked suddenly.

Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. "No, I'm not Yoda, but how did you know his name?" Obi-Wan asked.

Instead of answering, Han struggled to stand up. Luke helped him, and as soon as he had Han leaning on a wall, Han asked, "Where are we?" As if in answer, Han heard a growl behind them. A most familiar growl. _"Jabba..."_

* * *

Vader was so very glad he came to Tatooine. During the Sacred Song, he had experienced an epiphany! The sudden knowledge, the certainty, that very soon, his long wait would be over. His new Sith apprentice would be coming to him before this weekend was over. Thanks to the media coverage, they all knew where to find him. Would his son come? Or would it be his daughter? Vader's dark heart beat a bit faster at the prospects. 


	11. Jabba's Headaches

Now, I normally don't do this, but I think I need to take a few minutes here and answer some of my reviewers' questions and comments. Okay, here goes:

**Oboro,** I'm glad that you like my story, and happily, we're at chapter 11 already!

**Alley Parker,** what good would life be without some intensity? ;)

**zwantje,** and so I shall continue.

**Kyo's lover,** have you noticed how many AU Star Wars stories are around? Makes you wonder if there are a lot of people who wished it could have been different...

**Lord Zero,** thanks for reading!

**korieana,** Ewan McGregor, as many of us readers would agree, made the perfect choice for the younger Obi-Wan! As you can see, Obi-Wan has a place in every adventure the twins are going to have.

**Angel of Twisted Souls,** I do plan to check it out asap!

**Arken Elf,** the reason Vader manipulated the midiclorians to bring Obi-Wan to life in a younger body than the one he died in is because Vader never really pictured Obi-Wan in his mind as an older man. Remember in Star Wars, when Vader finds Obi-Wan on the Death Star, he is surprised to find Obi-Wan in this condition ("Your powers are weak, old man!"). He barely had time to associate Obi-Wan Kenobi in his mind as that older man before he killed him. Also, of most of the Expantion Universe stuff out there, Shadows of the Empire is one of the best. Will Darth Vader and Obi-Wan forget their differences? Not likely, not yet. Unless Luke forces them too...

**LiMiYa,** I always appreicate your comments. I envisioned Luke's meeting with Obi-Wan to be even more mushy to begin with, but I toned it down slightly, but I'm sure we all know just how much Luke wants to become a Jedi Knight! I think he'll make a more eager Padawan than even Anakin was. Another reason I started this story was because I want to explore Vader's relationship to Obi-Wan now that he's turned to the Dark Side. Luke reacted to Vader even in ESB, so I definitely feel that Luke wanted desperately to have a relationship with this man, even if Obi-Wan is his mentor now. And now, Luke also has to change his relationship with Leia, and I don't think he's quite ready for her to be with anyone but Han. Yes, Vader is the Dark Father that Lucas always alluded him to be. What does a good kid do with a villainous parent? Read on, and we may find some answers.

**Linari Tanis,** I hope not to disappoint.

**crazyAZN kid,** there's plenty more, I assure you!

**Darth Vengeance,** Vader at this point is only able to bring back either: people who have just died, or people like Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, who have retained their soul identities in the netherworld. He'd be able to bring Yoda back if he dies. But not Padmé. And believe me, he's not too happy about this either.

**Caz,** yes, yes, yes!

**Erik's leadinglady,** thanks for reading, and I do try to keep it as interesting as possible. Which sometimes runs into direct conflict with updating ASAP.

**The Dancing Cavalier,** Guri is a character in Shadows of the Empire, a human-replica droid. General Grievous is a droid replica human, right? LOL. But don't think we have seen the last of her, because we haven't. And don't think she's not going to have a lightsaber this time, because SHE IS! And just wait until you see who she duels! And yes, one of the Skywalker traits is the whine, and just because Vader's on a rebreather, it doesn't mean that he can't whine if he really tries! Do you really think that Obi-Wan would consciously turn to the Dark Side? It's just that Vader gets under his skin like no one else seems to. He's the one who knows Obi-Wan best of everyone else. He just knows which buttons to push. And Qui-Gon Jinn is a powerful button.

**Sonseeahray,** keep reading! Thanks!

**Warior,** thank you for your encouragement!

**TorontoBatFan,** your reviews are among the most insightful I get of any of my stories. "Princess" is sort of Leia's nickname, especially with Vader, you might notice. And this story is definitely going to be about Obi-Wan finally learning what Qui-Gon had tried to teach him years ago about living life in the now. And you'd better believe that there are going to be changes in the way the Jedi Order is run once Luke re-establishes it! Vader was impulsive bringing Obi-Wan back, but he is deep down most interested in keeping Luke and Leia safe, believe it or not. And if it means having Obi-Wan Kenobi train Luke, so be it. And yes, Vader (and Padmé) has passed the impulsive gene to Leia. Actually, Obi-Wan/Leia took me by surprise when I was outlining this story, but we'll see how this plays out. Your question about Han knowing about Yoda will ba answered in a near-future chapter.

**amber75,** Of course, there's a LOVE TRIANGLE brewing here. The third player has just been unfrozen! And you might have noticed that Obi-Wan tends to be very responsible, and feels very responsible for what's happened to Anakin. Not only did he let Ani down, he feels, but he also let down Qui-Gon. Vader is up to getting a Sith Apprentice. He wants (or thinks he wants) Luke to be his apprentice. But will Luke come? Or is he too set in the idea of resurrecting the Jedi Order with Obi-Wan?

**Kyer,** I must warn you and everyone else that I never read any of the Jedi Apprentice series. I know this makes me a bad fan (!).

**Jedi-Princess/nascar girl,** you will remain hooked on this soap, er, space-opera! Leia is not quite over Han just yet, so keep reading! There is definitely an Anakin/Vader split from time to time; on Bespin, he tortures Han Solo, but keeps the stormtroopers from shooting Chewie? And don't tell me its because he recognized Threepio, LOL! He's a very confused person, just ask Mace Windu! And yeah, I'm not all that into Boba Fett really, but the rescue of Han Solo in underway, and it's going to be different than ROTJ, but you already knew that, didn't you? Darth Vader is the biggest troublemaker in the galaxy right now! And we wouldn't have him any other way!

**The SkyWolves,** thank you, I like intrigue too!

**padme17,** I wanted Vader to have a dark sense of humor, because to me, it gives us a clue into his personality. With a life like he's had, you either have a sense of humor about it or it kills you. And yes, Luke and Anakin have very similar ways of doing things, don't they? Makes you think they might get along if they only had a chance, doesn't it? And yes, Obi-Wan is a stickler! But Vader really ought to practice more. LOL To paraphrase another famous movie: Are you a good Sith, or a Bad Sith? Is Vader a good Sith, or a bad Sith? Or is he a Sith at all (except he _does_ carry a ruby lightsaber)? Stay tuned!

**Dragonsdaughter1,** Obi-Wan will not be the only one witht he headaches in this story, I promise you!

**Jedi-Bant,** he will live as long as I say so, despite what _he_ might want! LOL

**MegumiFuu,** we haven't seen the last of Prince Xizor yet either.

**Sitaan,** I have not decided whether or not Vader is going to break his word to Obi-Wan and resurrect Qui-Gon. But even if he doesn't, I love Qui-Gon and definitely he will have more appearances in the story!

**YokoZodiac,** I got this idea after the second time I watched Revenge of the Sith. Don't know why, but that is how the creative process is sometimes...thanks for reading!

**Celebrian Helyanwe,** Hopefully it looks even better than before! Thanks!

**doreenthatshot,** thanks alot! I'm not sure how many chapters there will be, except that it should be at least 20, and there is most likely going to be a sequel story to this one, tentatively called Legacy of the Jedi. We shall see...

**darth mojo the spork,** I think Leia and Luke are being more understanding than they should be, haha! The clash between Vader and Sidious is going to be VERY surprising for the readers of this story. Darth Vader _must_ get his apprentice selected before...what? That's the real question. Why is Sidious so eager to take on Luke Skywalker? Or is he? There's going to be a lot more of Darth Sidious in the next chapters ahead! Read what I wrote to MissNaye about Jix!

**Petite Doll** I'm glad that your enjoying my story. I try to update as often as possible.

**YodasPatawan,** I can fight off seagulls, you know, having grown up on the Jersey shore, where the most aggressive ones will land on your arm and take your hot dog right out of your hand, you need to learn to fight back!

**Nini, the electrocuted sheep,** Warning, Vader is going to have fluffy moments. And I promise he (I?) will try to keep them to an absolute minimum, because he's not a fluffy kind of guy in general!

**dweem-angel,** here's more for ya!

**ciastus,** this story seems to be having more humor than I'd originally thought it would. I'm glad you like it. Thanks!

**BodomsGirl,** wait no longer! Thanks! Leia is going to have a very difficult time picking one of them, because frankly, _I'm_ having a difficult time picking one. It's a problem, lemme tell ya! LOL.

**MissNaye,** oddly enough, when I first put Jix into the story, I was thinking to myself, _I bet nobody even remembers him!_ But I think he's cool too! He give Vader some sass, no doubt about it! He might just pop up again.

**remnants-2011,** please continue with me! Thanks!

**SWTKD** if you put this story on your story alert list, you'll know before everyone else that it's been updated. I'm so glad that ffnet finally has RSS so that you guys can get news of updates faster than before. Thanks for reading!

**jediryu,** thanks for reading, and here's the next chapter...

Whew! I think I'm all caught up now. On with Chapter 11!

* * *

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 11: Jabba's Headaches

There they stood: two Jedi Knights, and Han Solo. At least, the Jedi were standing, Solo was more like leaning. Jabba had never seen Solo look more pathetic. Of course, this didn't make him feel any _pity_ for the former smuggler. It actually made him angry.

_"Solo!"_ Jabba raged, _"I have your woman here! You're not going anywhere as long as I have her, are you?"_ Luke and Obi-Wan were able to see what had become of Leia, dressed as scantly as Jabba dared to dress her. Han couldn't see her obviously, but he understood Huttese, as well as the chain rattling, all too well.

"Jabba, you let her go! She had nothing to do with this!" Han stammered, trying to stand up straight. "The bounty was on me, right? Not her!"

_"That is hardly the point, Solo, and you know it! She will make a fine addition to my collection, and you will be rotting under this floor, along with Chewbacca!"_ Jabba told him, laughing.

Obi-Wan's Huttese was a bit rusty. Anakin used to speak it fluently, had taught him some basics, then his years in exile on Tatooine had sharply increased his proficiency. But he understood enough of it, that was for certain. Calmly, he approached Jabba, trying not to get distracted by Princess Leia's appearance. "You are going to release both Leia and Chewbacca, and then we will leave you in peace. Otherwise, it will not turn out well for you. My Padawan and I can level this place faster than you can stop us."

Jabba laughed again. By this time, several of his allies, fellow thugs, and other assorted bums had filled the main chamber. Several of the slave girls and singers also sauntered in, giggling and pointing at the three human males. _"Your boy Jedi is a whelp, and Solo is washed up. He used to be a decent smuggler, but now, he's just_ Bantha Poodoo!"

Over the raucous laughter, Luke shot back, "If Han is poodoo, then what does that make _you?"_

_"It makes me the boss here!"_ Jabba declared. _"Get them!"_

The girls scurried out of the way, several of Jabba's biggest thugs rushed at the two Jedi. Luke and Obi-Wan split up, deflecting blaster fire with their lightsabers. This quickly became very uncomfortable for Jabba, since he was such a big target. He tried to drag Leia back to him by the chain, but she pulled away.

Obi-Wan saw her out of the corner of his eye. _/Luke, try to get to your friend and Chewbacca and I'll get your sister/_ he told his Padawan through the bond.

_/Right, Master/_ Luke agreed, edging his way closer to Han, huddled in the corner, obviously hating the fact that he couldn't do anything. For a split second, he was ready to strike down a guard running toward him, but just in time, Luke realized it was Lando.

"Come on, Han, it's too dangerous for you up here!" Lando reprimanded him. "We're gonna go get Chewie."

_"I can't see!_ When is this going to wear off?" Han asked over all the noise.

"Luke said it'll be a few hours. So that's why we have to get you out of here!" Lando answered, and Han could hear the frustration in his voice. Han was led out of there, but Jabba noticed the guard taking Han, and had a few of his thugs follow.

Meanwhile, Leia was being pulled ever closer to Jabba. She had to get free! They'd rescued Han! There was a great sense of accomplishment in her mind all of a sudden. It made her think that this minor skirmish was just the fallout. What hopes did Jabba really have of keeping them all there? Especially since Jabba's minions were beginning to fall at a more rapid rate, primarily under Luke's and Obi-Wan's lightsabers.

Of course, that was when a new player chose to make a rather dramatic entrance. The old beat-up Mandolorian armor, the rocket pack. The double-blaster fire raining down on the two Jedi suddenly. Only Boba Fett could make an entrance like that.

"Well, what do you know? Two _Jedi_ have resurfaced after all this time. I thought you were all dead! That was certainly how _I_ preferred things! To me, the only good Jedi is a dead one!" He lowered the blasters and landed next to Jabba, grabbing Leia by her arm. "I suggest you two lower your lightsabers, before I decide this one is even more pretty without a head!"

Luke glanced at his master. Obi-Wan nodded slightly, and he shut his lightsaber off. Luke followed, though the frustration was evident in the air. "Who might you be?" Obi-Wan asked.

_"You don't know who I am?"_ Fett growled.

"Don't get yourself so upset! It's a big galaxy, and my master can't remember everyone on sight, especially bounty hunters. Master, this is Boba Fett," Luke drawled.

Obi-Wan made a show of looking pensive. "Oh! Boba Fett? Fett..now where have I heard that name? Oh, yes! I met your father on Kamino, didn't I?"

"You nearly _killed_ my father on Kamino!"

"Well, seeing as how he nearly killed me, I'd say that we were even, wouldn't you?" He turned to Luke. "Just for trivial information, Boba Fett here is an unaltered Clone. The very same genetic material that constructed him has constructed every last Stormtrooper in this galaxy, Luke."

"You Jedi all thought you were so smart! You didn't even know that one of your own had comissioned the Clone Army in the first place!" Fett spat.

"It wasn't one of our own who comissioned your father to become the donor. No Jedi would have selected him, I assure you."

Boba Fett raised his blaster again, forgetting all about Leia in his rage. "Sure, my father was just good enough for one of your Jedi to _kill_ wasn't he? One of the reasons that Lord Vader and I get along so well is that I happen to know he _killed_ that Jedi Master! Out the window with Windu, eh?"

Obi-Wan's lightsaber flared to life in an instant. "Nobody makes jokes about that horrible day in front of me!" Luke followed suit, reigniting his lightsaber, becuase he saw something in Jabba's bulbous eyes. Something like fear.

_"Enough! Fett, let go of the woman, now!"_ Jabba ordered.

"Jabba! What are you afraid of? That we're going to get killed? These Jedi are sad, pitiful fools!" Boba Fett argued.

_"Get Solo, he's downstairs by now, trying to get the Wookiee! Go! I want him killed now!"_ Jabba declared. Boba Fett growled, but he blasted out the window to go to the ground level from outside. Luke impetuously leaped out after him.

Obi-Wan felt his calmness finally return. He wrapped himself in a cloak of the Force to bolster his relaxed state. "Now that your bounty hunter bodyguard is gone, I think that you should do what I suggested earlier. Let us all go in peace, and no more harm will come to you or your allies. If you continue holding Leia prisoner, I will be forced to deal with you in a most unpleasant manner. Let her go."

_"No Jedi mind tricks?"_ Jabba growled. _"Because they don't work on me, Jedi! That is, if you really are a Jedi..."_

"Jabba, make no mistake, I am a Jedi Master, and my Padawan learner downstairs is on the verge of readiness for the Jedi Trials. Our Order is returning, and I realize that this might be bad news for you and your, er, business. But if you keep on the honest path, you will have nothing to fear from our return." Now, Obi-Wan glanced at Leia, and added, "Though I must warn you that the Jedi order takes a dim view of slavery. A _very_ dim view."

_"Humph! Take the woman then! There are people within the Empire that also take a _dim_ view of slavery! Everyone should worry more about what _I_ take a dim view of!"_ Jabba declared, tossing Leia to Obi-Wan like some toy he'd grown very tired of.

Obi-Wan caught Leia in his arms, and as she looked up at him, their eyes locked. In that instant, neither of them had any thoughts about anything except eachother's eyes. His sky-blue ones, her deep, dark ones. And then it occurred to Obi-Wan, there was a disturbance in the Force...

"I'm glad you're safe, and surely, you must want to see Captain Solo!" he sighed, breaking the moment's intensity.

Leia seemed to snap out of it with his words. "Yes! He's downstairs! And so is Chewie! Let's hurry!" She darted off, out of earshot when Jabba called after her.

_"It's a shame that your man couldn't see you dressed in that costume, eh?"_ He followed that up with a lecherous laugh.

Obi-Wan found himself murmuring, "Yes, quite a shame...Quite a shame indeed..." He followed Leia downstairs.


	12. Four Players, One Role

_Here's a really long chapter for you guys. Enjoy!_

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 12: Four Players, One Role

As the suns began to set, Boonta Eve got into full swing. The streets of Mos Espa were packed with all varieties of sentient beings eating, drinking, dancing and celebrating the Huttese holiday. Every cantina, pub, bar and dive in the spaceport was filled to overflowing. Many of the more resourceful establishments set up tables and chairs outside in the street to accomodate those who weren't early enough to get a seat indoors. But that was alright; it was almost nicer being outdoors.

At least, that was what Han Solo was thinking as he sipped his beer. He was able to see finally, and every face save one was familiar. Chewie was right beside him one one side, and the princess on his other. Luke across from him, smirking slightly in response to something Lando had said. But on Luke's other side was the enigmatic Jedi Master, who as of yet hasn't been too forthcoming about who he was. But Han thought there was something familiar about him, though he couldn't quite say what. The stranger had a small green drink in his hand, barely said a word, but kept eyeing Luke carefully, as though hoping he didn't revert back to being the fun-loving former farmboy that Han had gotten to know so well. There was an undercurrent that Han didn't like, and it revolved around this man.

"Lando, I'm still getting over the fact that you were running that mining colony on Bespin, never mind that you're now a general in the Alliance army! This from a person whose entire adult life consisted of one long beer run when I knew him!" Han pointed out.

This got some laughs from everyone, except the Jedi Master. "Han, my friend, I've turned over a new leaf. Time has passed," Lando shrugged.

"Yeah, well, time will tell, won't it?" Han commented lightly. Even as he spoke though, it secretly occurred to him that Lando _did_ appear to have changed as much as he claimed. A robotic waiter loomed over them wanting to see if anyone wanted refills. Luke held his glass up, and Han joked again, "Waiter, you ought to ask for his id!"

"Han, I'm almost 25, even though you still insist on calling me 'Kid,'" Luke pointed out.

"Now wait just a minute! Last time I heard, you were barely 23..." Han started, then fell silent. If Luke was almost 25, and the last time he saw Luke, he'd been only three months past his 23rd birthday (for which they'd had a most memorable celebration on Ord Mantell), then more time had passed than anyone had let on.

Han's hand began to shake, so he set his beer on the table to hide it. His shock made him more receptive to the anger he'd been feeling since the carbonite first dissolved off his skin. He glared at everyone else. "I've been in hibernation for over a year? Why the hell didn't anyone say anything? Here I am going on like a dope about Luke and Lando, and not one word out of any of you! Not even out of Chewie, thank you very much! Anything else anyone needs to tell me?"

At first, no one said a word. Leia looked like tears were filling her eyes. Then, the Jedi Master spoke up. "You had no concept of any passage of time while frozen?"

"No. I was unaware of anything at all. When I was unfrozen, I almost expected to be back on Bespin, in that terrible chamber! Instead, I'm on Tatooine, and I find out a year has passed! More than a year! And now, I want to know just who the hell you are!" he snapped back in annoyance.

Luke was about to speak up, but the Jedi Master stopped him, much in a way that Han had seen someone else stop Luke once... "It's alright, my Padawan. I should not have tried to keep my identity from him long. I only wished to keep him from getting an overload of shocks in one evening. I know now that he doesn't appreciate it. You could say, Captain Solo, that I'm the fool you followed a while ago."

Han seached his memories. Why did that statement tease his mind? And then, the memory flashes of him came in a sequence: in a smoky cantina with a very young Luke, across from him in a secret cargo compartment, battling Darth Vader with lightsabers. That was where he'd seen him before! Which, of course, was absolutely impossible.

"How? There's no way you could be Ben Kenobi..." was all that Han could manage to get out of his mouth.

Obi-Wan placed his drink down, and looked very troubled. "I can assure you that dying was much easier than being brought back."

"I saw you getting killed. You were _gone!_ How did you get brought back?" Han stammered.

"It would appear that Darth Vader's mastery over the Dark Side of the Force is nearly complete. He is the one who has this ability. Among the Jedi, this sort of thing was unheard of. It's something only a Sith Lord like him would attempt!" Obi-Wan downed his drink then.

"Vader!" Han looked very thoughtful. And then he asked, "Bringing people back from the dead is a Dark thing?"

Obi-Wan glared at him. "It is monstrous!" The mood quickly took a dive from there.

"Hey, is the _Falcon_ docked anywhere near here? I think I want to check on it..." Han announced, gulping down the remnants of his bottle.

"I'll go with you, Han. I can show you where it is, and we can do some more catching up," Luke told him. "Chewie, is it okay if I go with him alone? It's kind of, well, I'm sure Han will tell you all about it later." Chewie rumbled a bit, but didn't really argue.

Leia looked miserable and Obi-Wan appeared a bit uncomfortable. _/Luke, are you certain of this/_ he asked his Padawan through the bond.

_/He needs to know the truth, Master. Tell Leia I'll try to make him understand about her not saying anything before./_ Luke answered as he pushed his chair in.

Soon, the two friends made their way through the teeming streets. "Now that we're out of earshot, I can say it. I can't beleive this about the old man! Vader brought him back? How much more far-fetched can a story get, Luke?" Han protested.

Luke looked very grim. "Oh, you'd be surprised, Han. Very surprised. Here's the docking bay," he said as he pointed to the large, bowl-shaped structure up ahead.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Han asked, almost warily. He searched for his precious YT1300 and finally found it. For a moment, Han just grinned. His ship was alright. Life couldn't be that bad if his ship was alright... Docked next to it was a sleek, smaller cruiser.

"That's the _Phoenix,_ Master Obi-Wan's ship," Luke told him.

"Hmm... Nubian huh? Pretty slick. Must've set him back a pretty credit," Han commented.

"Well, actually... It's a long story. Can we go inside the _Falcon?_ I'd rather not talk out here," Luke winced as people and aliens scurried back and forth.

"Hey, no problem! Come on in!" Han lowered the cargo hold door, and they both climbed up. Han's eyes were everywhere, scanning his ship for signs of damage or neglect. They made it to the cockpit, and Han plopped into his captain's seat, and Luke took Chewie's co-pilot place.

"Oh, look at this. I'll bet Leia must've _loved_ these..." Han shook his head as he batted the fuzzy dice installed over their heads. "No doubt, this was Lando. What else has been done to pimp out the _Falcon?"_

"Um, yeah, actually, we got into the habit of putting some fuel colorant in the tank... It glows green when you switch gears..." Luke said quietly, not sure he could face Han's reaction.

"You've gotta be kidding! As if I'm going to be able to see it when I'm going into hyperspace!" Han scoffed, suddenly making Luke feel like he was about fifteen years old again.

"Trust me, Han, you do see it. It's a blaze of green all around. It's actually kinda cool..." Luke grinned, for a moment forgetting about the tale of woe he was about to tell Han.

Han looked sardonic. "There, now that's the Luke I used to know. I thought he was gone for good when I first saw you again. I mean, here you are, all dressed up in brown clothes like the old man was. I mean, your _Jedi Master,_ sorry! Yeah, and how come he's younger?" Han pointed out, as if trying to prove to Luke that he was a big fool.

"Well, let's look at it this way. If _I_ had the ability to bring Obi-Wan Kenobi back from the netherworld of the Force, I would have envisioned him as the older man you had met in Mos Eisley. But Vader, he knew Obi-Wan when they were both younger. That was how he saw him, as younger. Whenever he recieved visions of him, it was always the younger version he saw. Whenever I saw him, it was the older version," Luke explained.

"Oh. Just like that huh? _Visions?_ Ok, Kid, now I'm starting to get really worried about you," Han frowned.

Luke was surprised; Han sounded like he was really worried, and not joking around. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be alright, as soon as I can straighten out Vader."

Han looked more alramed than ever. "Luke! Don't go anywhere near him. He's big, big trouble!"

"Han, I have to. I don't have a choice. I must do it, even if only for my own sanity," Luke admitted. "I can't leave things the way they are. If you'd just let me explain, you'd understand."

"Kid, I'm gonna tell you this straight up, and I know you're gonna get mad, but I don't care. Don't trust that Kenobi fellow. He's pushing you down a path you shouldn't be going down. I know you got some 'vision' on Hoth, Luke. You ought to stick with this Yoda guy instead, if you're so insistent on doing this Jedi thing. Which I happen to think is a lousy idea, just for the record," Han said.

Luke regarded him coolly. "First of all, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a great Jedi master. He fought during the Clone Wars, alongside my father, and Yoda... By the way, how do you know about Yoda?"

Han grinned mischievously. "Oh, so now I know something you don't huh? Well, back on Hoth, you must've been having one of those _Ben Visions,_ because you started rambling about Ben, Yoda, and Dagoba." Han didn't miss the look of shielded shock that came across Luke's face at the mention of Dagoba. "Now, I knew who Ben was of course, and I've heard of Yoda. Yoda was a Jedi Master that fought in the Battle of Kashyyyk, one of the final battles of the Clone Wars. Back in those days, news of Jedi was not as suppressed as it became later on, and I was a young kid, curious about battles and stuff like that. And later on, when I met Chewie, he told me _he_ had fought right beside Yoda during that battle. So there."

Luke struggled to keep his mouth from dropping open. "Chewie and I are going to have a long talk one of these days! Imagine, he knew all about Yoda, and he never said a word!"

"Well, he never knew for sure that Yoda was still alive, not until you started muttering about him. Then I thought that maybe I'd just say something to Chewie in passing. We wound up putting our heads together, while waiting for you to get out of the Bacta tank. We figured out that Ben somehow had told you to go to Yoda. Chewie told me that after the Battle of Kashyyyk, Yoda was going to hide out somewhere, and now we know that that somewhere must have been Dagoba. Gee, Luke, you don't look so good. I hope you're not upset."

Luke tried to clear his look from the shadow that must have fallen across it. "I have to go back to Dagoba, now that you're alright."

Han appeared very pleased by this. "Good, Kid. You're finally listening to reason. Stay away from Kenobi. Remember, he's _Darth Vader's_ old teacher, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. But Han, I need to talk to you about something, it's important. It's about me and Leia," Luke began in a rush, before Han tried to interrupt.

Not that he didn't interrupt anyway. "Luke, please, not another word! I had a feeling all day that something wasn't right. Well, I always had figured that it would be you if it wasn't me..." Han announced sadly.

"Huh? No, Han, it's not like that," Luke began. "Leia was afraid to tell you, because she thought you wouldn't understand."

"No wonder she's been acting like she was a million light years away tonight! But she didn't have to be afraid of telling me! I would've been cool with it. Well, maybe not _cool_ with it, but I'm not going to get in the way. I'm gonna take off out of here as soon as I can get myself together, and you two can go on with your lives. You should not be putting anything off on account of me!"

"Han, you don't understand, there's more to it," Luke stammered.

"Oh, there always is more to it, isn't there? And you're wrong, I _do_ understand, all too well. You're going to be a Jedi Knight soon, and she's a princess. Who am I but some messed-up space bum bogged down with bad debts and a price on his head? I always knew, deep down, that a princess and a guy like me could never really make it. You're a better person than I am, I've always known it. I know you two have been keeping it real quiet; I can tell even Chewie must have no idea. I'll bet _Master Obi-Wan_ won't be too happy, but who cares about him?" Han fought with all his might to keep the tears out of his eyes and his voice. "Look, I know you think you need to explain yourselves a little more, but please, not right now. I think I need a little time to be alone. Please?" he pleaded when he saw the look on Luke's face, determined to talk more.

Luke frowned. He hadn't been eager to tell Han about Darth Vader's true identity, and his relationship to Leia. Han still didn't know, but Luke knew he needed the time he was asking for. After all, when Luke himself had found out, it wasn't a very good day for him either. "Promise me you'll call me later. I need to make you understand what's really going on here."

"Yes, I promise, I'll call you before I leave. Just, not right this minute," his friend answered. Without a word, Luke turned and left the _Falcon._

* * *

Unlike Han, Luke was not going to keep fighting the tears. He quickly wiped his eyes, feeling very disgusted with himself. Master Obi-Wan was right; he should have waited until Leia had worked up enough courage to tell him, then gone with her. He just hoped that Han didn't take off without hearing the rest of the story. He had totally the wrong impression, and he vitally needed to know the truth.

Suddenly, Luke sensed his father, not too far away. Vader's presence on Tatooine was beacon-like in nature. He was behaving himself, keeping his distance. _If only I could get a minute or two to talk to my father, make him understand how many lives this plan of his was destroying! I _know_ that Vader is really a good person, just waiting for that one standout moment to make him realize it!_ Luke thought, _I could go; Master Obi-Wan thinks I'm still talking to Han._

Surely this meeting would have to be less disastrous than the one on Bespin. Luke stared at his hand, recalling how unready he really was that day. But he had more training since then. He'd even been face to face with Darth Vader already. Their meeting on Corellia hadn't been all that bad. No one got hurt at all. Could he dare to hope? Vader was staying at the governor's palace outside Mos Espa. It wasn't far at all. Maybe, just maybe...

Leia stirred her drink sadly. Chewie had wandered off with Lando, after they saw an old friend of theirs named Jix passing by. So now, it was just her and Obi-Wan, who was very quiet. Finally, she said "I can't help it, I'm nervous! Han has every reason to hate my father. After what he did to Han... I didn't want it to end like this."

"If Han loves you as much as he should, then he won't be bothered by who your father is," Obi-Wan told her.

"How could it not bother him? It bothers _me!_ And I know it makes you uncomfortable too, I can see it!" Leia cried.

Obi-Wan sighed, gave Leia a sad look, and said, "If only you had known you real mother, you might feel differently. Padmé Amidala was a fine young woman, intelligent, honest and good."

There was something very wistful in Obi-Wan's voice as he spoke. Leia's head was buzzing from the drinks. It made her bolder. "Was Padmé beautiful, too? She must have been, if my father went through all he did to have her." she slurred.

"I was not to think of her in that manner; I'm a Jedi. When I first met her, she was far too young to be of any interest to anyone except to a nine year old, who apparently had such attachment to her over the subsequent years that nothing, even the Jedi Code, could stop him."

"Nine years old! Who would have thought a child would have such depth of feelings, when the grown-ups around him apparently didn't!" Leia cried.

"What do you mean? Are you implying that the Jedi are shallow, have no feelings?" Obi-Wan asked sharply.

"If you do have feelings, you certainly have been well trained to hide them!" Leia countered.

"That's your father talking," Obi-Wan frowned. "To him, if one didn't act on every feeling that crossed their hearts, then they were unfeeling altogether. Very extreme view of life, that is. Sometimes it is inappropriate to burden others with feelings that can go nowhere..." Obi-Wan winced after he said that. That hit too close to the mark.

Leia could see Obi-Wan's revelation had cost him his advantage. "So, you think that your feelings for me are inappropriate? Why? Because of Luke? My father? Or, maybe it was my mother?"

"Leia, I don't think..." Obi-Wan stammered. _Damn, if only I had a little more defense against her._ She was like her father, quite overwhelming when she wanted to be. "Padmé was, I mean to say, it wasn't with her like it is with you." _Yes, damn it, Padmé wasn't Force-Sensitive! She hadn't healed me like you have._ "She was your father's friend, or so I thought. Friend! Indeed, what a blind fool I had been! I saw their relationship the way I wanted to see it, not as it really was."

Leia nodded, suddenly more clear headed than she'd been in a long time. "There is no Jedi Order now. And my mother is gone. And you feel it would be wrong to act on your feelings for her daughter, don't you? Please don't say there aren't any, I can see it in your eyes. How do you think I feel? Luke suspects, and he's already freaking out. Han will be broken hearted. I hate the idea of causing him such misery, I love him. Yes, I do love him. _But I love you too!"_ Obi-Wan gaped at her, but she continued, standing up and looking him straight in the eyes. "The one I'm most afraid of is my father. I know how he'll react to this. No wonder you stay away!"

Obi-Wan stood up, alarmed, but miserable all the same. "You have no idea what he'd do to me... Forget I said that, I shouldn't have," he answered shakily.

That terrible fear snaked it's way into Leia's heart. She should have known all along. It _was_ Vader that was keeping them apart! "It's fine, I understand. Forget all this," Leia wept, turning to leave. But as soon as she began to make her way, Leia heard in her mind, _No! Don't go!_ Then, she felt a strong hand on hers, pulling her back around. In an instant, she was in Obi-Wan's arms, his lips were on hers, but most importantly, his heart was pounding in exact time with her. There was no way this could be wrong!

When they finally let go of eachother, Leia said to him, "You'll see. I'm going to make this right. No matter what, I will do whatever it takes! You'll see!" And with that, she dashed off, leaving Obi-Wan in his own turmoil.

Leia struggled through the crowds, which showed no sign of thinning out. She knew where her father was lurking. At the governor's palace. _Well, when I get there,_ she thought in a fury, _his good times at her expense were coming to an end!_ Whatever threat Vader was holding over Obi-Wan was getting eliminated, or there would be no end to her wrath!

* * *

Obi-Wan could only watch her go. _What have I done?_ he asked himself. _How could I have become so weak?_ The shame of it was that Leia was right. Right about it all! He has fallen for his Padawan's daughter! If it had been up to him and the Jedi Council, she would never have been born! What he was feeling for Leia was wrong on so many levels he didn't even know where it began to grow worse. And how could he have been so stupid as to let it slip that Vader's boundless evil was part of what had kept him from her?

That lurking shadow in his heart was growing. _How dare Vader do this to me?_ Obi-Wan clenched his hands tightly, felt his jaw go rigid. _I'm not afraid of Vader and his threats! If anything, he should fear me! I've cleaved him limb from limb before. It's not my fault he was too foolish and stubborn to die the first time!_ Princess Leia would not be the one made to suffer for her father's evil ways. Luke would not have to deal with his father's lingering threat. And Han Solo, well, he felt sorry for him, but he would have to somehow recover from losing Leia.

_I know what I must do. I must destroy Vader now, before he destroys what tenuous life I have._ With this thought firmly in his mind, and this feeling firmly in his heart, the Jedi Master set one foot, then the other, down the path that his lurking shadow cast.

* * *

Han had looked for his hidden bottle of Rodian Firewater. He needed a drink like you read about. But nowhere on the _Falcon_ was it to be found. He doubted Lando took it; he favored stuff like green champagne, not the harder stuff. Probably Leia found it and dumped it.

_Leia!_ He'd lost Leia!

He shuffled out of the spaceport. He didn't mean to give Luke trouble or grief. Maybe he'd go back to that cantina, look for anyone that might still be left. It was night now, and the air was dry and somewhat chilly. Damn Tatooine; he hated it here. Luke hated it too, couldn't wait to bust out of here, Han could tell. And it was only on account of him and his troubles with Jabba that Luke had even returned. No, Luke and Leia were meant to be together. They were two of a kind, and Han, though he was their friend, could never hope to evolve into the kind of person they deserved as a friend.

Han wanted to find Luke, but he did hope that he wouldn't have to run into Kenobi again. Just the idea of him being around made him so uneasy that he felt like he was losing it. As the cantina came into sight, Han started scanning through the crowds outside for their old table. The sight he found made him stop still with the kind of shock that paralyzes a person.

Kenobi's red hair made him noticeable. He stood with a woman in his arms, kissing her with an unmistakable passion. The petite woman's dark hair was all that was visible, but when they tore themselves from one another, Han's heart lurched. It was _Leia!_

He watched her for a few more moments, and she hurried off. Sure, they were keeping it quiet, weren't they? _She's not with Luke? She's with Obi-Wan Kenobi? Yeah, she'd keep that quiet, wouldn't she?_ Was _that_ what Luke was trying to tell him? Han snuck off, trying to gather his thoughts.

After a few steps, Han had gathered his thoughts enough to figure out he wanted to incinerate Kenobi where he stood. He took out his blaster, turned around and dashed back to the table. But Kenobi was gone!

Seething with frustration, Han signalled the serving droid from earlier, when the world had been more beautiful and pure. He ordered that bottle of Rodian Firewater, no glass. When he got the bottle, Han started drinking straight from the bottle, trying to sort out his thoughts in spite of the alcohol that shuffled them even more.

He wanted to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi, someone who was supposed to be dead. Damn that Darth Vader! Even now, when he was far away, he was torturing Han more. Why did he have to bring that Jedi bastard back to life? What was the purpose? As Han drank, the more he wanted to understand the reason. And the more he wanted to kill Vader too. Just like he wanted to kill Kenobi. Jedi can die from blaster fire just as easily as anyone else, even if they wear armor. Even if they have an ability to block laser blasts with one gloved hand... All it would take was one blast in his back. That would be it...

After about three quarters of the bottle was gone, Han had a plan. He'd find Darth Vader and kill him. Yep, that was it. Now he just had to find the Emperor's right hand man. He turned to the table at his left. There were a lot of space pilots seated there, looking like they'd just landed there. "Hey, you guys hear that Darth Vader is here? On Tatooine?" Han asked them, keeping in mind a rumor he'd heard earlier.

"I heard he was here to listen to some monks... Probably at the governor's palace, far away from us riffraff," one of the spacers snorted.

"Hey no kidding? Isn't that supposed to be on the other side of Mos Espa here?" Han asked.

"I'm sure one of the locals would know, sir. Probably just follow the stormtroopers," another joked.

"Yeah, probably," Han slurred as he got up from the table and left some coins. He felt a credit card in his pocket. It was still there, from Bespin. On the account was the money he was going to repay Jabba. Imagine, Jabba had his money the whole time right under his slug nostrils, and he didn't even know it. Han let out a loud "Ha!" and stumbled out of the cantina. Jabba could wait until Han was done with Vader...

* * *

Vader stood outside the governor's palace, looking at the stars. He strayed away from the dinner party that the governor was throwing in his honor once there got to be just too many people in there. He could not get his mind off the revelation he'd had earlier. His apprentice was on the way. And not a moment too soon. How would it be, once he became the Master Sith? What would life be like without being under the thumb of Palpatine at last? He had to admit, the thought of it made his heart lighter than it had been in so very long.

So light, in fact, that when the governor himself strolled outside and said, "Ah, there you are, Lord Vader!" he was not even bothered by the intrusion. "I heard the most amusing rumor just now, about Jabba the Hutt. It appears that a certain piece of artwork was stolen from his palace earlier during the Monk's Song."

"Indeed? Well, no doubt Jabba paid far too much for the _artwork,"_ Vader commented. It was amusing to Vader actually, since he knew that the "artwork" was really Han Solo in carbonite. Vader himself, it could be said, was the artist. From a certain point of view... "Governor, I will be leaving Tatooine tomorrow morning. I must return to Coruscant. Your hospitality has been generous."

In further effort to make small talk, the Imperial Governor of Tatooine leaned in and said, "Perhaps in the future, if we could convince the Monks to sing again, you will return, Lord Vader. I must say, the sales tax revenues from this weekend will make a big dent in the shortfalls we've had from those bad harvests we've been suffering the past few seasons..."

"Are you suggesting that Tatooine become a tourist destination, Governor?" Vader nearly laughed.

"Well, why not? The sunsets here are among the most beautiful in the Empire..." the governor rambled, only to get cut off from his comlink beeping. "Yes?" he sighed.

A faceless robotic voice replied, "A security alert by the South Gate."

"Tusken Raiders?" the governor asked. Vader crossed his arms. Still troubles with the Sand People! Why did some things never change?

"No Sir, only one. Human. Went by too quickly to detect anything else," the security system voice answered.

This grabbed Vader's attention. With the Force, he reached out, trying to sense a presence. Yes, he felt it. It surprised him, greatly, what he felt. Without a doubt, it was his future apprentice. The presence of the Force made the air suddenly crackle. "Governor, let this one come. I will deal with the situation myself," Vader ordered him.

"Very well, Lord Vader. I will advise my other guests to...stay out of the way." Vader watched him retreat back into his palace, and close the doors behind him. Vader strolled a bit until he found a courtyard that he'd seen earlier that day, on the side of the palace. He would wait there for his new apprentice's arrival.

He did not have to wait long. Closer, closer, the sense crept. Only Vader's breath cut through the silence. But Vader didn't hear his own breath, only this person's footsteps behind him. And once the one came close enough, Vader instantly ignited his lightsaber, and it's red light arced over their heads...


	13. Vader's New Apprentice

_Hey guys, I'm sorry about the long wait for this chapter! Between Hurricane Wilma, Halloween, and a disastrous vacation week, I just haven't found the right time to post this next chapter._

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 13: Vader's New Apprentice

...to cut Han Solo's blaster deftly in half, with such precision as to not even singe the man's fingers as he did so. After that, Vader frowned under his mask, andinquired indignantly, "Have you been drinking?"

"I can handle my liquor just fine," Han growled through his shock.

"No doubt, you needed to load yourself up before coming here. Liquid courage. I forgive you this time. But you are not to come before me again in this condition," Vader said dryly.

"What? You _forgive me?_ Why you son of a..." Han spat, then suddenly stopped when he felt a clawing pressure around his throat.

"You know, I always thought that expression was a stupid one. It just gives one's mother all the credit, does it not?" Vader said lightly, then loosened his Force grip on Han's throat. "Captain Solo, what brings you here this evening?"

"Well that's real cute! You make it sound like I'm here for a social call! Well, the truth is, I'm here to kill you!" Han declared.

Vader crossed his arms and shook his helmet. "Now why would you go and waste your first night of freedom in over a year trying to kill me?"

_"Because you've ruined my life!"_

Vader sighed in his unique metallic way, and responded, "There are so many people who accuse me of that, I'm afraid that you'll have to be a little more specific."

"You tortured me for absolutely no reason except that you could! Then, you had me frozen in carbonite, and it took over a year for me to get out of that! _Over a year!"_ Han roared. "Specific enough for you?"

"Though this may seem a surprise to you, Solo, I regret those things I did to you now," Vader interrupted.

Clearly, Han wasn't quite expecting that kind of answer. "Oh, that's real great! _Now_ you regret it? Now, after the damage has been done?" Han seethed, struggling with the urge to say more.

"Hmm... now we come to the real issue. Let yourself focus with that anger! Tell me what's really on your mind," Vader urged.

Han's eyes narrowed, and he bit out each word. "You've been real busy while I was being dragged all over the galaxy by Boba Fett, haven't you? You even got around to bringing _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ back from the dead! _Great job! You did real damned good!"_

"Why, Captain Solo! I can feel your anger... It's _very_ powerful, positively invigorating!" Vader broke off and watched Han Solo's face turn into a mask of darkness. Vader laughed knowingly. "Your hatred towards Kenobi is astounding. I didn't think anyone despised him nearly as much as I! You must tell me what the good Jedi Master has done to bring this out in you!"

The surge of the rage level was unmistakable at the mention of Obi-Wan. "What's it to you?You don't need to know anything else except that I've now completely lost the most precious thing I ever _might_ have had! And it's all because of _you!"_

Like a great bird of prey, Vader began to slowly circle Han. "You seemed to be quite attached to Princess Leia Organa when I last saw you on Bespin, Captain Solo. Could _she_ be the one to whom you are referring? No doubt, her revelation to you must have been quite a shock," Vader taunted.

"What revelation? That Kenobi has decided to move in on Leia?" Han nearly choked as he said it. "Oh, yeah, the late great Jedi Master and Leia are getting on _really well_ lately! I'm surprised Luke isn't more upset. I thought he and Leia... I was so sure that _he_ would have made a move..."

Vader pulled in his breath. "They never told you! I don't understand this! They're quite like me; they don't like to lie and keep secrets!"

"What the hell are you talking about? _Those two are nothing like you!"_ Han spat.

"I see that you have not been told the whole story, or indeed, even a part of it. I suppose then that it shall fall to me to fill you in on what has happened. I did not think Luke would have dodged telling you, his best friend. I warn you though, my point of view is quite different than Luke's. Have a seat; this is going to take a while." Vader gestured to one of the blackiron chairs that decorated the courtyard. It scraped across the duricrete floor loudly, bumping up against the back of Han's knees, making him sit reflexively.

"Now, I've heard that Luke thought Obi-Wan had more than one apprentice. This was not true. Obi-Wan Kenobi had only one student, or Padawan. Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. No doubt, Luke told you that I killed Skywalker. But that was because Obi-Wan told him that, not because it is actually the truth."

"Ha! You trying to tell me that you didn't kill the kid's old man? Kenobi is a snake, but the story he told Luke seems to fit with what we all know about you," Han sneered.

Vader nodded absently. "You see, Obi-Wan has a difficult realtionship with the truth. He likes to tell things from a _certain point of view._ And in his point of view, _I_ killed Anakin. The truth is, Anakin was destroyed by a team of people. He had to go, really. He was weak, soft, in spite of all that wonderful Jedi training he'd gotten. While it is true that I was the one who dealt the final blow to that once good man, Obi-Wan Kenobi was very much responsible for erasing Anakin from his children's lives."

"Children?" Han noted quietly, but otherwise remained silent. Luke had a sibling?

"Yes. You see, Anakin had secretly married, then found out he was to be a father. The Jedi Order forbade any permenant attachments to other people. So Anakin knew he needed to keep his other life a secret, even from Obi-Wan.

"Unfortunately, as the Clone Wars drew to an end, there was a faction in the Jedi Order that wished to overthrow the Chancellor. They had found out that Palpatine was far more than what he seemed. He was, and still is, a Sith lord," Vader revealed.

"A Sith Lord? Look, Luke tried to explain Sith to me, and I don't get all of that stuff," Han admitted.

"Indeed, even if the Jedi Order knew that the Chancellor was a Sith lord, it made little difference to the people who had elected him. The people who looked to him to restore order to the chaotic galaxy. What did they know of Sith, Jedi or the Force? No matter how you look at it, you cannot deny that the actions of those Jedi would have constituted high treason. Anakin saw it with his own eyes, as the Jedi Master Mace Windu was about to decimate Palpatine. Thanks to Anakin's actions, Palpatine survived that ordeal. But it changed him, and Anakin, forever. The Jedi were now considered traitors, enemies of the Republic, for the few remaining days it was to _be_ a republic. Palpatine could see that Anakin was the only Jedi reamining that was loyal to him and the Senate. And so, Palpatine sent him on a mission; to destroy the treacherous Jedi Order.

"But..." Han protested, but Vader cut him off.

"While all this had been going on, Anakin's wife was close to her delivery. His greatest fear was that she would die in childbirth. Palpatine knew this, and offered Anakin a way to save her. The Dark Side of the Force. Anakin felt the Dark Side flow through him; it brought him power beyond anything his fool Jedi Master had ever taught him existed. With the Dark Side, he vanquished the Jedi in the Temple. Then, he was sent to Mustafar, to eradicate the last remaining Separatists.

"But Obi-Wan caught up with him, and they engaged in an epic duel. Anakin's power was stronger, yes, but Obi-Wan's skill with a lightsaber was what saved him. Anakin lost one of his arms and both of his legs in that duel. And Mustafar is a fiery world; Anakin felt the damage it's flames could bring all too much.

"But the worst part, Captain Solo, was when Obi-Wan simply left Anakin there. Left him to die, or live. It mattered not to him. He'd _done his duty..._ Imagine, if you will, being left with one mechanical arm, charred skin, stumps for legs, desolate and alone. The only thing Anakin had left was the Force. It was all he ever really had, you know. That, and his strange will to live. He began to pull himself up off that cliff's edge where he surely would have found death had he slipped further. With that one mechanical hand left, he clawed his way to safety. And then, Palpatine found him at last, and returned him to Coruscant.

"There, Anakin died. As the mech droids attached new legs to him, and another mechanical arm, and grafted skin, attached various things to him to aid his breathing, Anakin was smothered. The Dark Side of the Force put a new person in his place. One who was stronger, far less vulnerable than Anakin was.

"That person was named Darth Vader..."

Han's eyes could not stretch open wide enough. Through his horror, he managed to find the words, "No, no you're _not_ Luke Skywalker's father. There is just no way...No! He's my friend! He _can't be your son!"_ Han protested. "He's good, a real decent kid. Yeah, he's a bit flaky, especially ever since Kenobi got ahold of him, but he always worshipped the ground Kenobi walked on... No, it isn't true."

"Yes, I am Luke's father. But even more importantly to you, _I am his twin sister's father as well._ Let us not forget her. After all, she's the real reason you are here, isn't she? She is indeed so like her mother in many ways. I can understand why you've become so enamored of her, I suppose."

Han began to shudder. Luke didn't make the move on the princess, because he couldn't! Not if he was the twin brother of..."Leia! No! Liar!"

Vader allowed some of his own rage to surface. "I am no liar! And neither are my children liars, they knew nothing of the machinations to keep them from me. Especially Luke; I only got a chance to tell him the truth on Bespin."

This statement seemed to be the last straw. "On Bespin! You had me carbon frozen, used Leia and me and Chewie to lure Luke there to tell him this crazy story? There was no truth told there! No truth told tonight either!" Han jumped up and knocked the chair over in outrage.

"Do it! You wish to kill me! Make your move!" Vader dared him. "It is the only way you will be able to salvage this situation! It is the only way you will remove me from my daughter's life!"

_"Leia...is...not...your...daughter!"_

"I was not born with the name of Vader. I was named Vader, Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, by my true master, Darth Sidious, when I allowed the Dark Side of the Force to fully claim me! But Anakin Skywalker, that fool who believed so very much in love and its powers, managed to produce two children of great potential and significance. _And the woman you love is one of them!"_ Vader watched Han, whose face was etched with irrational, pure hate. "Princess Leia Organa, who is truly Leia Shmi Skywalker is the daughter of Darth Vader, the one who _ruined your life,"_ he sneered.

Suddenly, the walls of the courtyard began to shudder, just as Han was doing. Vader nearly laughed but instead urged Han once more, "Whatever is going through your mind to do, do it now!"

"I can't!" Han admitted. Because, what he sincerely wanted to do was shoot lightning from his fingers. But no human being could do that!

"You can. It's in you to do it," Vader told him.

Han suddenly darted forward, not shooting lightning from his fingers, but settling for grabbing the chair and rushing at Vader with it. With his teeth bared, and his eyes flashing with his anger, Han would have frightened just about anybody.

Anybody that is, except Vader. Han managed to knock the Sith lord down, but Vader shoved him off, using half-Force and half-muscle to do it. "I hope that when you go after Obi-Wan Kenobi, that you've learned how to do better than this. Or he will shred you into even thinner ribbons than he did me!" Vader taunted.

"I'll do it somehow, but only after I've dealt with you!" Han seethed. It was then that Vader discovered his lightsaber was in Han's clutches. As the red blade ignited, Vader leaped to his feet. Han smiled coldly, and for one chilling, dangerous moment, Vader watched him advance, thinking all the while _How could I have not seen it before?_

_All those years as a pickpocket when I was a kid are finally paying off,_ Han thought smugly as he advanced. _Vader thinks he's so high and mighty! Here's your Force right back at you!_ He swung the lightsaber, but Vader leaped back, elegantly landing out of reach, even as Han rushed towards him. Vader raised one hand, and pulled the lightsaber loose from Han's hand with the Force. Instantly, he created a full body bind, which pinned Han's arms to his sides and froze his legs together.

"I'm quite impressed Captain Solo. You have gotten closer than virtually anyone, save Luke, to actually harming me. You use anger to give you strength, and you have a survival instinct that serves you very well. Despite these qualities, I still have the upper hand."

"What the hell is this?" Han stammered through a clenched jaw.

"Do you know who taught me how to do this? Obi-Wan did. You are not prepared to take either me or Obi-Wan down. Now, since you have nothing better to do with yourself for the moment, I suggest you listen again to what I have to say. We might just come up with the answer to all of your present difficulties.

"You blame me for your misfortunes. I suppose, in an indirect way, you would be right. After all, I did have you carbon frozen, did I not? But if Jabba the Hutt hadn't had that bounty on your head, then Boba Fett would not have been taking you anywhere else, and I would have been able to unfreeze you as soon as the test was completed. You could have been reunited with Princess Leia before a year and a half had passed. And then, even if I had gone ahead and brought Obi-Wan back from the dead, he would have had very little to do with you, or Leia. Therefore, we can only come to the conclusion that it is your debt to Jabba the Hutt that is ruining your life, not me.

"I've done some research on you, Captain Solo, especially since I saw how close you and _my daughter_ had become. Perhaps the better title for you would be _Lieutenant_ Solo, right? I should have known that you had once been a pilot in the Imperial Navy; you fly that horrible _Millenium Falcon_ like it was a TIE fighter. And then I find out that your career came to an end when you aided Chewbacca the Wookiee in escaping from a future of slavery. _That_ little bit of information got me even more interested.

"You incurred your debt to Jabba by dumping a cargo when, as you told him, Imperials were set to board your ship. By the way, I really don't mind that you used the Empire as an excuse. Especially when you and I and Jabba know the true nature of your _cargo,_ don't we?"

"Hey look, before you get any kind of ideas, I just want you to know I was set up! If I'd told Jabba once, I told him a million times that I don't run..." Han declared through his frozen jaw.

Vader's voice grew softer and deadlier. "Oh, I'm well aware of that, Solo. If I thought for one second that you did, I would have killed you long ago. I can tolerate many things, even bounty hunters, but one thing I cannot abide is a _slave runner._ Incidentally, one of my agents has been able to track down your 'cargo,' and they are all back with their families again."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad for them..." Han grunted.

"Of course, that good deed did not go unpunished, did it? I know all about good deeds and where they get you, trust me on that! Before I launched the attack on Hoth, you were going to leave, weren't you? You were never part of the Rebellion officially, were you? What kept you from committing fully? I know the answer of course; you were going to do what Anakin Skywalker would have done. You were on your way to pay Jabba back his money! You had the money set aside all the while. You just hadn't gotten around to delivering it to him," Vader guessed with a note of disbelief in his metallic growl. "Do you think for one minute that Jabba the Hutt wanted your money? Do you have any idea of the kind of bounty Jabba was offering for you? Skies, if it hadn't made you so much trouble, I'd have told you that you should be flattered!"

"So what?" Han asked.

"So what? He doesn't need your money! He needs to make an example of you. You made him look like a weak fool in front of his posse of space trash! Sure, he would have been thrilled had you come to him with your debt paid in full. Then he could do what he wanted to you, and never pay anyone else a decicred! What a bargain! Well, at least he had to pay the full price on you to a bounty hunter before he got to hang you on his wall..." Vader waited, and then felt Han's anger returning. "Excellent...you are beginning to see just how much good you get from doing the 'right thing.' Soon, you will come to understand the freedom of the Dark Side of the Force."

To illustrate his point, Han fell free from his body bind. He narrowed his eyes, though, and said, "The Force has nothing to do with me, Vader. And so neither is the Dark Side; it's of no use to me."

"Of course it is!" Vader pointed in Han's face. "You will never be able to defeat the enemies you now face, you will never live in peace, and you most certainly will never have my daughter if you do not have a change of mind, Han Solo!"

"That's ridiculous! Even if I was inclined to do what you're suggesting, I couldn't do it. I can't become a Jedi!" Han half-laughed in disbelief.

"Oh, no. You're quite right," Vader agreed, stopping his pacing and giving Han Solo an even, straight-on gaze through his helmet visor. "You could never become a Jedi; you don't have it in you to become one...

"But, you _can_ become a Sith!"


	14. One Wilder to Another

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 14: One Wilder to Another

_Note: If any of you have ever read _The Wheel of Time_ series by Robert Jordan at all, you already know what a "Wilder" is supposed to be. For the rest of you, you'll find out in this chapter what it means, and why I borrowed this concept. Now, on with the story..._

Over the years, Han Solo had run plenty of scams. One could call him a rather accomplished con artist, even. And they always say that one should never try to con a con. So what was Vader up to? "Become a Sith? You mean, become a _Darth,_ like you are?"

"That's exactly what I mean, Solo," Vader answered, nodding his helmet enthusiastically.

Han's face clearly showed his lack of faith. _"Darth Han?"_ he snorted.

"Of course not! Do I go around calling myself _Darth Anakin?"_ Vader scoffed. "Only Palpatine continues to use his real name, but he doesn't put his title before it."

"Hmm...that should make you wonder, shouldn't it? Why isn't _he_ making everyone call him, what was his name again? Darth Sidious?" Han stopped speaking because as he kept repeating the name, something inside his soul made him shiver. These Sith were the ones controlling the galaxy! And now, Vader's advising _him_ to become one?

"It is not that Palpatine is ashamed of his true identity, it is that it obviously wouldn't be politically expedient to make everyone who used to call him Chancellor Palpatine start calling him Darth Sidious, now would it?" Vader's metallic breath sounded more and more ominous as each second passed.

"Does anyone in the Rebel Alliance know?" Han wondered aloud.

"Probably not, but even if they knew he sometimes called himself Darth, they wouldn't understand it any more than you do. Unless they were Jedi, or former Jedi..." Vader answered.

"Does Luke know?" Han asked.

"I have no doubts that Obi-Wan has told him. Obi-Wan knows that Palpatine is a Sith. He knows I am a Sith. And he knows that I'm looking for an apprentice!" As Vader said that, Han felt that shiver again. "Actually, I am surprised that Obi-Wan is allowing himself to be so distracted with my daughter when I always thought his primary goal in life is to keep me from continuing the legacy of the Sith."

"Well, bringing him back from the dead was certainly not going to help your cause! Of course Kenobi's gonna try and keep Luke from joining you! I don't get it. Don't you want Luke to be your apprentice?" Han asked.

To Han's great surprise, Vader answered, "No, not anymore. I've been slowlyrealizing that I had it wrong all along. As did Obi-Wan. As did the Emperor. I admit, it's not easy to accept it. I'm very angry about it. Luke is my son! One of these days, he's going to have a very rude awakening, courtesy of me! He thinks he's going to restore the Jedi Order! Not without me having something to say about it! And then there's Leia, one of the highest ranking Rebel Alliance leaders, also my child! Yes, I am going to start evening the score with them both. But right now, I must concentrate on eliminating my master, and I cannot depend on either of them to help me! Well, if you don't think I'm right, then tell me, do you think Luke would make a good Sith lord?"

"No, I think he'd make a terrible Sith lord," Han answered with perhaps more candor than he would have liked. "He's too hung up on being a Jedi to even consider it. And, he's got a good soul."

"Unlike others we know, hmmm? Unlike perhaps...yourself?" Vader said cuttingly.

Han rolled his eyes. How did he get himself into these things? "Vader, I can't be a Sith lord. First of all, Luke would kill me. Hell, even Leia would kill me. And just to remind you of another thing: I gather you need to be Force-sensitive to be a Sith, right? Well, guess what, Vader?"

Vader answered slowly with a question of his own. "Guess what, Solo?" Even through the rebreather, the voice sounded so certain, so final.

Han began to shiver even more than before. "No!"

"Yes!" Vader did not need to elaborate on what he meant.

"I am not _Force-sensitive,"_ Han corrected him shakily.

"Yes, you are. Though I can understand why you'd deny it. After all, to your way of thinking, there's no proof. You've never _done_ anything that makes you look Force-sensitive. Or so you think. You shake your head, but inside, you must know that I might just be right about this!"

"Prove it!" Han snorted. Imagine, Darth Vader, one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, was a complete wacko! _If only I'd been able to keep my hands on that bloody lightsaber!_

"We could conduct a midiclorian test, of course, and that would prove it beyond a doubt. But I have found that science never tells the whole story, does it? In this case, it just tells you that there are things in your cells that make you more receptive to something that science has never been able to explain." Vader shrugged. "I believe my observations are far more reliable than even a blood test. You say you want proof, Captain Solo? Very well, let's talk about what I'veobserved about people like you, shall we?

"All your life, you've known you were somehow more capable of getting difficult things done than the others around you. When you were a child, you probably had someone take advantage of this trait. I had my owner, Watto, who made me race pods so he could make even more money gambling than he already did. I'm certainthat you had someone like Watto in your life, too."

Han's mind immediately screamed _Garris Shrike,_ and he shuddered even as he reminded himself that the creep who had taught him how to run scams, pick pockets, and beg on the streets as a child, was dead. _And let's not forget the Hutts_ Han reminded himself unpleasantly. Once Vader was certain that his point had been made, he continued. "Now, no doubt you found yourself rebelling against those who would use you, and you kept wondering why they reacted so badly to losing you. A Force-sensitive pickpocket? Truly a jewel in the crown of any leader of a band of vagabond boys, no? And let's not forget your piloting skills! I'm certain that Jabba's not the only one who has hired bounty hunters to retrieve you."

This prodded Han to speak. "Hey! Just because I can fly a ship well doesn't prove a thing. Lots of people are good pilots and don't levitate things, alright!" he argued. But already, he didn't like how close to home Vader's guesses were becoming. Or were they guesses? How could Han possibly trust anything Darth Vader had to say to him?

"But Captain, don't you _want_ to levitate things?" Vader asked innocently.

_"No!_ What good does levitating things do anybody?" But Hangasped as his feet left the ground. When he tried to move, he found he was back in the full body bind, and he was most definitely rising. "Hey, what the hell's this? Put me down!"

"Make me," Vader said simply.

As Han was turned upside down, he growled, "You know, you're just lucky I'm not Force-sensitive! You know what I wanted to do to you before, Vader?" Han asked.

"No, what did you want to do to me before?" Vader asked.

"I wanted to shoot you with lightning from my fingers. Fry your black-armored ass right where you stood!" Han spat. Somehow, he didn't think his threat made all that much impact on Vader, since he was now completely inverted, staring at Vader's shielded eyes.

_"Really?_ Why didn't you?" Vader asked, almost sounding disappointed that Han didn't at least try. "You know, the Emperor can do that. Shoot Force lightning from his fingers. In fact, Sith lords are known for it. I can do it too, but I don't. I find it leaves these annoying burn marks in my gloves every time I do it..." Vader began to turn Han rightside up again. "But, I could teach you how to do it."

"Oh, isn't that nice?" Han snickered as his feet touched the duricrete floor once again. "You've got to be kidding! Take lessons from _you_ on using the Force? You know, once upon a time, I was a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy. How come they didn't do a midiclorian test on me?"

"Who says they didn't do one? My question is, why didn't anyone inform me of a midiclorian count as high as yours obviously is?" Vader answered with a question of his own.

"Because it's obviously not!" Han countered.

"Apparently, there are a few of my people who need a _talking to,_ when I get around to it. In the meantime, on to far more important things. Since we have determined that you would make a suitable, no, make that a _perfect_ candidate for a Sith, we need to start discussing your training in the ways of the Force..."

"What are you talking about? I haven't come to any conclusions except that you're a madman and I feel more sorry than ever for Luke! Not that you're telling the truth about that either!"

Vader sighed. "We're back to that again. Very well. I shall give you more clues, and perhaps it will get through to you. When I first boarded the _Millenium Falcon_ nearly four years ago, I felt the presence of the Force in great abundance. Considering that both Luke and Obi-Wan were on that ship, it was no surprise. But later,while you and your passengers escaped the shipto rescue Princess Leia, I went back to the _Falcon,_ and I found something fascinating. The residues of the Force remained even after there were no life forms left aboard! Such a thing is so rare that letting the ship out to follow you to Yavin was difficult for me to do without regret. What did I care about the Death Star? The _Millenium Falcon_ was far more interesting to me..."

Han couldn't help but smirk. "Well, Vader, at least we know you've got your priorities straight."

"That ship is a top priority for you, is it not? Especially since you've put so much of yourself into it!" Vader countered.

"Yeah, a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into keeping that ship spaceworthy, Vader, and if you've gone and messed with it..." Han threatened.

"Blood, sweat, tears, and the Force..." Vader corrected him.

Han shot him a dirty look. "I didn't make the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs by using the Force..." he scoffed. _Did I?_

"Another clue is your close relationship with the Wookiee," Vader continued unperturbed. "In the days of the Old Republic, the Jedi and the Wookiees had very good relations. Not eveyone understands Wookiee talk, you know. The truth is, it takes a great deal of practice, to be able to hear the subtle inflections of their speech, doesn't it? Unless the listener was using the Force."

"Before you get any big ideas, Chewie owes me a life debt. On account of me saving him from some of your cronies, by the way. I grew up with a Wookiee around, too. Naturally I can't speak Wookiee, but I understand it. Comes from being close to 'em all my life," Han defended himself.

"You could be right about that, Solo. But what about your friendship with Luke and Leia? In spite of your pressing need to get back to Jabba the Hutt, you found you just didn't want to leave them. Yes, I can see from your expression that you never noticed it before. It took me pointing it out. You didn't want to leave them behind unless things became too desperate for you. It brings that old expression to mind: _Like attracts like!"_

Han grunted. "Luke's a good kid, he would've done the same for me. I guess I was worried about him, wanted to make sure he'd be alright. Alright, maybe I wanted to hang around in case Leia started getting interested... They both seemed lost after the Death Star business. Luke's good in a fight, but I saw him getting swallowed up into the Rebellion... I know, it makes no sense when I say it like that." Han threw his hands in the air dismissively.

Vader laughed. _"You,_ protect a Force-sensitive? Such a notion would make no sense, unless of course you are one yourself. Then, it would make perfect sense. Many times, use of the Force occurs on a subconscious basis, sometimes even unconscious basis. Which brings me to the most compelling evidence I have: your carbon freezing experience."

Han felt ice suddenly forming in his gut. "There's aftereffects from it, isn't there? Yeah, I bet I'm gonna go blind again! Or worse!" The panicked anger bubbled up again, and Vader sensed it.

"Lando Calrissian had warned me of the danger of carbon freezing a human being, especially in his facility. He was right, of course; it was nowhere near as elaborate and complete as the one that was deep in the bowels of the old Jedi Temple..."

Han nearly choked. "What?"

"Back in the day, the Jedi routinely used carbon freezing to imprison rogue Jedi Knights. The practice was abandoned perhaps even before Yoda was born, but the machinery was still there. I happened upon it once, when I was still a child Padawan. The thought of imprisoning a Jedi like that stuck in my mind. Later, when I looked it up in the Jedi Archives, I found out exactly what would happen to someone who survived the process. No lasting ill effects had been reported. However, the longer someone remained in hibernation, the worse the immediate aftereffects would be. And, there was one inescapable conclusion from the research conducted by the Jedi Order on carbon freezing."

Vader's tone made the ice return double in Han's stomach. "And what was that?"

"That only a Force-sensitive survives the process at all. That you not only survived the initial process, but also recovered this quickly after being frozen for so long, is very telling indeed." Han shook his head involuntarily, and Vader continued. "You are what the Jedi liked to call on the sly a _Wilder._ Don't feel too badly; I am one too."

"Hmph, what's that?" Han asked.

"Someone who learned to used the Force somehow without the supervision and blessings of the Jedi Council," Vader answered spitefully. "The Jedi used to take small children, sometimes even babies, if it was found that their midiclorian counts were high enough. If they didn't find children in time to train them, many of them began to develop their own little methods of dealing with their powers. The Jedi considered these older children, or even adults, unacceptable to train formally."

Han gave Vader an even look. "Well, that settles it then. Even if everything you've said is the absolute truth, it doesn't do me any good. Too much time has passed."

"I don't believe that. Look at Luke, how much progress he has made in a few short years, three of them spent fumbling around! Turns all of the Jedi's theories on their ears, I think!" Vader insisted stubbornly.

"You have a point, but Luke is in his twenties. I'm in my thirties," Han informed him.

"All the more reason to get a move on, Solo. Now, there are limited choices as to who can train you. Right now, there's only two, maybe three. There is Master Yoda, whom I have not seen in many years and for all I know is close to death. He's far too much of a purist to ever train you. He'd sense you were lousy Jedi material just as quickly as I did. Another choice would be Obi-Wan Kenobi..." Vader said.

_"Him?_ Train me? Not a chance!" Han declared.

"Well," Vader said brightly, "that leaves me, does it not? I will teach you the ways of the Force, you will become my Sith apprentice, and we will both get what we want!"

"No way, Vader! I ain't lettin' someone like you screw me up even more than I already am!" Han protested.

Calmly, Vader responded, "I cannot make you do as I say. To become a Sith, one must fully embrace the Dark Side, not be forced into it. I've waited this long. I can wait a little longer. I know this, however; you may leave me now. But you will return, once you see things more clearly. Once you see just how much you truly need to learn to control your powers. Once you realize that you would do anything necessary to keep what is most important to you..."

Without a response, Han turned on his heel and took his leave. Vader watched him go, making no sound save the constant, ominous breathing...

It was only once he managed to get back into the landspeeder he'd "commmandeered" for just this trip that Han allowed the shakes that had threatened to grip his body to finally work their way out of his system. Darth Vader was trying to get him, Han Solo, to become his Sith apprentice! In all his life, he'd never had so bizarre an experience! What was he going to do now? Especially since he was already starting to wonder whether leaving wasn't just the biggest mistake he'd ever made?


	15. The Breaking Point

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 15: The Breaking Point

Luke searched high and low through the spaceport's parking lot, but he couldn't find his rented landspeeder anywhere! He couldn't believe it; of all the times to have it stolen! Master Obi-Wan would eventually start to wonder where he was, and then he'd never get a chance to confront his father! Maybe public transport would get him halfway there, if he could find any. It was so crowded that Luke doubted that he'd find a space to stand on public transport.

Hey wait, Luke thought suddenly. There was always Leia's rented speeder, and he was certain she wouldn't mind if he borrowed it for a little while! He began searching for her landspeeder, but couldn't find that either! Damn! He turned back around again, and saw Leia over by where his landspeeder would have been parked had it not been stolen. Puzzled, Luke rushed over to her.

"Are you looking for my landspeeder? It's been stolen, I think," Luke said unhappily. "Leia, isn't yours around here somewhere?"

"No, I left it over by Obi-Wan's house, remember? I took public transport to Mos Espa, then a swoop bike with Chewie to Jabba's Palace," Leia reminded him.

"Oh, that's right! Crap! I needed my landspeeder; I had to get somewhere," Luke explained vaguely.

"This couldn't have happened at a worse time; I needed to get somewhere too!" Leia huffed angrily. Suddenly, they both looked up in unison, as they both had sensed it. Obi-Wan was striding right towards them.

"What are you two doing here? Luke, I need to borrow your landspeeder; I have somewhere I must go," Obi-Wan explained crisply.

"Sorry Master, but even if my landspeeder hadn't just been _stolen,_ I couldn't lend it to you anyway. I had to get somewhere," Luke responded.

"Stolen!" Obi-Wan exploded. "Damn those Jawas!"

Luke reached into his pants pocket and drew out a key on a small ring. "No, it couldn't have been Jawas, since I still have the key, and since they don't steal landspeeders without the keys to them."

"Of all the landspeeders to pick!" Leia grumbled. "Why yours? It's not like it was top of the line, like this one or that one! You'd think someone would have stolen one of them."

"Hey, Leia, I'm sure wherever you had to go, it wasn't as important as where I had to go," Luke finally snapped.

"Oh, really? I don't think so, Luke! I think where I had to go was a little more important than you reminiscing at some local junk shop," Leia spat.

Luke was about to blow into orbit over that comment, when Obi-Wan cut them both short with his own announcement, "Unless I'm very much mistaken, neither of you could be doing anything more important than what I was going to do!"

Luke finally found his voice. "Why do I suddenly get the feeling that we were all heading to the same place?" Obi-Wan and Leia glared at him, then, oddly enough, at eachother.

"Obi-Wan, no! I'm the only one who can handle him at all. If he sees you..." she gasped, not wanting to even give the words voice.

"If he sees me, I will be the last person he ever sees!" Obi-Wan declared vehemently.

Luke realized, to his horror, that Obi-Wan was talking about killing Vader! "Master, please, don't!" Luke stammered. "I wanted to talk to him, try to make him see reason! You can't go to him, not like this! I know you hate being under his thumb like this, Master! But he's my father!"

Then Leia chimed in, pulling Luke in her direction to face her. "Obi-Wan's not going to him, not because I don't want him to kill our dear old father, but because he'd be putting himself at terrible risk if he did! So I'm going, just as soon as I find a way to get there...WAIT! Obi-Wan, don't!" she screamed.

Turning back in his master's direction, Luke gaped as he watched his Jedi Master leap onto one of a row of swoop bikes that he'd somehow managed to get started. Without giving any thought to what he was doing, Luke rushed over to another one to try to catch up. Hell, he could hot-wire just about anything even faster than Obi-Wan, ever since Han had shown him the tricks of the trade over the course of time since he'd joined the Rebellion, so Luke was out of the spaceport lot in no time.

Obi-Wan blasted through the crowds and heavy traffic of Mos Espa, with his Padawan in hot pursuit. As Luke gave chase, he wondered what had gotten into Obi-Wan? Since he'd left the table at the cantina, something must have happened. Certainly must be his father's doing. Since when wasn't it?

Obi-Wan managed to stay ahead of Luke as they headed into the open desert. But Obi-Wan was not a pilot at heart like his Skywalker Padawans were, and Luke knew a few manuevers to keep Obi-Wan from proceeding full throttle. The Jedi Master slowed down, since his Padawan had started whizzing around him and in front of him. Finally, Obi-Wan was forced to stop, but his face was anger personified. His blue eyes were nearly glowing in the darkness as Luke climbed off his swoop bike and ran to confront him.

"Luke! You are not to interfere in this! I am going to finally free myself from your father's clutches!" Obi-Wan raged.

"No! You can't confront Darth Vader! Come to your senses! He'll kill you if you come after him now like this! I can handle him. _I'm the only one who can!"_ Luke nearly gulped when he saw the shocked outrage on his master's face, but he stood his ground. "What is my father holding over you that's so horrible that it has Leia freaking out? Did something happen while I was talking to Han?" Luke asked.

Obi-Wan's eyes clouded over, and he sank to his knees in the sand. "I feel the Dark Side lurking very closely, my Padawan. Your father has a most terrible fate in store for me if I don't do exactly as he commands. I didn't want to tell you about it; I feared you would think it was this threat that was my only reason for training you. But now my path is set, a path that shall surely lead to Vader's displeasure. _I cannot bear this!"_ Obi-Wan pounded his fists into the gritty sand, then let one desperate wail of anguish escape him before he bowed his head in utter defeat.

"Master, I know I can get through to my father. I know I can convince him that this plan of his is hurting, no, killing the people I love, and people he loves as well, though he'd rather die than admit it. Now, let me go to him and..." Luke began to say, but Obi-Wan's hand shot out so fast that Luke didn't see it, but rather felt it's iron grip around his own wrist.

"No! If _I'm_ not going to see him, then certainly _you_ will not! Your friend is now out of the carbonite, Luke, and it's high time that we left here and went to Dagobah. Understand?" Obi-Wan growled, eyeing Luke with the fire returning in his eyes.

"Yes, Master. We'll leave as soon as we get the _Phoenix_ refueled and ready to go. You're absolutely right; we should be returning to Master Yoda as soon as possible," Luke answered, felt the grip on his wrist loosen. As Obi-Wan rose from the ground, Luke couldn't help thinking that his Jedi Master was keeping something very important from him. Since when was Obi-Wan afraid of death? Or was that even what Vader planned for Obi-Wan? If there was something worse than dying, then surely his father would have thought of it. He sincerely hoped that Master Yoda would be able to bring some sort of calm to Obi-Wan's mind. If anyone could, it was Yoda.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the spaceport, Leia wandered around, trying to decide what to do. She saw the _Millenium Falcon_ nearby, so she walked toward it. But she saw right away that Han didn't have the cargo hatch down, so obviously he wasn't there.

As she stood there fearfully waiting for her brother to come back with Obi-Wan, Leia thought that maybe she should call her wayward father. She paced back and forth a little longer, then decided to do it. Nervously, she searched her contacts list and got the code that Luke had given her. She initiated the call it, then waited.

She heard a prerecorded message: _"No doubt, if you have this access code, and you've reached this message, then you are someone I want to speak to, so leave a message and I will return your call."_ No id of the voice, not that Leia needed it. It was a voice she heard in nightmares from time to time. She waited a few seconds, then began to speak: "It's me, and I'm telling you right now, if you've laid a finger on Obi-Wan, I will make it my life's mission to turn you into a pile of scrap metal, I don't give a damn how I do it! He's gone off to seek you out, and you'd better just hope like hell that Luke managed to stop him. You've gone too far, and I don't care if you are related to me, or what Luke says. I will stop you. And you might laugh that off now, but you and I both know _I have my ways."_

With that, Leia signed off, her hands shaking with rage. She glanced around her; she had gotten pretty loud, but she was also pretty sure nobody in the world would think she was speaking to Darth Vader, of all people!

Except for one man, who had gone back to his ship, who hadn't had a chance to re-emerge from the shadows before Leia started her comlink tirade. That man now leaned against the wall, still behind his ship, with his heart pounding. Vader hadn't lied to him at all! Luke and Leia _are_ his children! But more importantly, Leia was really pissed about Vader threatening Obi-Wan! Secretly, Han didn't want Obi-Wan to face Vader any more than Leia did. But that was because he wanted to get his revenge on Obi-Wan himself, not have Vader slice and dice him first!

Where was Chewie? Han realized that he didn't even have an activated comlink back in service yet. He'd have to get back onto the _Falcon_ and use it's com to get Chewie. And that was going to prove difficult. Not so much because Leia was stationed in front of his ship, but because he'd just caught sight of Boba Fett! He reached for his blaster, only to recall that Vader had sliced it in half quite efficiently earlier that evening. Now he really needed to get back onto the _Falcon,_ since an extra back up blaster rifle, along with turbo lasers and theother secretguns all awaited him. But getting up there would be the problem; Fett was sure to have his eyes peeled.

Han wished suddenly, madly, that he knew some sort of Force trick to help him out... He could see Fett advancing; the bounty hunter had seen Leia! She had her blaster out, but would she be able to save herself?

Suddenly, two brown blurs appeared, blocking Fett from Leia. When they stopped, Han could see it was Luke and Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master and his Padawan had their lightsabers crossed before Leia, as if keeping _her_ from doing anything. "I suggest you move on, bounty hunter. Surely whatever Jabba has promised to pay you is not worth your life, which I will promptly be taking if you make one more step towards this woman," Obi-Wan warned Fett.

"Jabba would like to see her back in his lap, but I'm really waiting for Solo. I have permission to disintegrate him this time..." Fett reported.

Luke responded, "You're going to have no more success trapping Han than you did attacking Leia, so I think you should do as my master suggested and move along!"

"You will regret interfering in my hunt, Jedi scum!" Fett blasted off.

Shaking with rage and humiliation, Han didn't dare approach them. He was too ashamed. Leia was in danger, and _Obi-Wan_ came to her rescue! He was truly losing the woman he loved to that opportunistic bastard! And Boba Fett would never have been there had it not been for his quest to recapture Han! Obviously, Jabba was not through with him! Leia had almost been taken, because of _him_ and his debt! Han felt like vomiting.

Vader was right about it all!

But could he be right about the remedy?

As Fett flew off, Obi-Wan's blue and Luke's green blades dissolved. Luke comforted Leia, who was shaking, despite the blaster still in her hand. "It's okay, Leia, shh..." Luke whispered.

"At least he didn't get Han..." Leia answered. "But where is he? I haven't seen him all night! I bet he didn't take your news too well, did he?" Leia accused Luke.

What was this? Did Leia still care about him after all he'd put her through? Han remained silent, stayed in the shadows, hating himself more every second he remained there. There was no doubt about what she meant. Luke was supposed to be the one to break it to their ol' buddy Han that they were the spawn of the Sith!

"Well, actually, I never managed to..tell him. About Vader," Luke admitted.

Obi-Wan became cross. "Oh? So I suppose instead you decided to slip off and visit your father?" he snapped.

"No it wasn't like that! I tried to tell him, but he got the wrong idea and I just..." Luke dropped his head in shame.

"Oh, great! Han's got the _wrong idea?_ I can just imagine..." Leia snorted.

"I suggest, my Padawan, that you go track down Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca to aid you in finding your friend. Before more bounty hunters show up here," Obi-Wan ordered.

"Yes Master," Luke answered, then took off. _Yeah, first good idea you've had all day, Kenobi. And get your damned hands off my woman,_ Han's mind seethed. It was time to make his grand entrance, Han decided. _Play it cool,_ he told himself. _Act innocent!_

"Hey, Leia! What's going on? I just got back," Han reported, emerging from around the side of his ship. Leia's face brightened when she saw Han's lopsided grin. Han's eyes darted at Obi-Wan very quickly, and he did not miss the darkening of the Jedi's blue eyes.

"Han! Thank goodness you weren't here a few minutes ago!" Leia cried, running into his arms. Han clung to his princess, savoring her closeness.

"What do you mean?" Han asked, as if he had no idea.

"Boba Fett was lurking around here," Obi-Wan answered in a very terse tone.

Han looked alarmed. "Leia! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

"Fortunately, Luke and I arrived in time to fend him off," Obi-Wan told him.

As much as it was killing Han to do it, he attempted to play nicely. "Then I'm grateful to you for saving the day. Where is Luke now?"

"I just sent him off to find your friend Calrissian and Chewbacca. Then, since you're back here, safe and sound, Luke and I are leaving Tatooine."

"Already?" Leia gasped, breaking away from Han and turning her full attention to Obi-Wan. Apparently, she wasn't too happy with that kind of news.

"I'm afraid so. But we won't stay away for too long," Obi-Wan answered, giving her a strange sort of smile that was making Han's blood boil. _Keep it cool, Solo,_ he warned himself. _At least he's going away from Leia. That will give me the time I need to do what I need to do..._

_What I must do..._

Later, everyone was back at the spaceport. Lando and Chewie were telling Han all about what their old pal Jix had been up to, and Luke was taking his leave with Obi-Wan aboard the _Phoenix._ Han only half listened to Lando as he watched Leia wipe tears from her face. _I know I'll be hurting you at first, but please Leia, please understand why I'm doing this..._ Because Han had his own plans to leave. He would not keep Luke and Leia in danger.

He would not keep being a liability to those around him. That included Chewie, who suffered just as much as everyone else because to Han's inability to get rid of the lingering threat of Jabba's wrath. Which was why, when Leia leaves Tatooine with Lando to return to the Rebel Fleet, Chewie was going to be with her. His Wookiee pal just didn't know it yet.

It was very late when Leia, Lando, Han and Chewie returned to the set of rented rooms. But Han was ready to set his plan in motion. When Lando and Chewie were finally asleep, Han slipped out and returned to the _Falcon._

Once he finally managed to get aboard his ship once again, Han quickly pulled Leia's comlink out of his pocket. He looked for Vader's code and found it. After initiating it, Han got the same message Leia got. He left his own: "If you weren't jerking my chain before, then I'm interested in talking. I'll be aboard my ship, if you can get here ASAP." Han clicked off, feeling his heart quicken. This was a big step to take, but he couldn't keep this crap up forever. Either he or someone he loved was going to get killed. And there was Obi-Wan to deal with...

Down in the hold, Han sat at his small gaming table, too keyed up to do anything except wait. But he didn't have to wait long at all. Vader ventured up the opened cargo hatch and boarded the _Falcon._

"I got your message, Captain Solo," Vader said, sweeping into Han's hold in a flurry of black capes.

"I was a bit worried that you'd already left Tatooine," Han admitted.

"I was not leaving Tatooine without my apprentice..." Vader clarified with a certainty that Han instantly envied.

"It must be nice to know in advance that everything is going to go your way," Han grumbled.

"With the Force as my ally, I have knowledge that no one save those who have already crossed into the netherworld could know. I can see the future outcomes of my plans, I can see the past with clarity, and I can see the present in a whole different way than others can. You have this power at your disposal, Solo. You only need to reach for it, and it will be there. I can teach you to reach for it, and what to do once you have the Force with you. I take it that you have reconsidered my offer. That could be the only reason you would have called me. Tell me, what happened to change your mind? What could have made you so angry, so desperate, that you called me, your enemy?" Vader asked.

Han didn't want to, but as Vader spoke, the events of the past few hours swirled in his mind again. The rage at seeing Obi-Wan, the humiliation of hiding from Boba Fett, the anger at seeing his precious Leia crying... "Tell me what I must do," Han finally said.

Vader felt the triumph in his heart, though he was careful not to let it be known. The Dark Side of the Force is truly the more powerful, the more useful side of the Force! "You must become my apprentice. Learn what I teach you about the Force and the powers you can gain from it. And when my master is one with the Force at last, you must become a Sith."

"I'll do whatever you say, just so long as I don't lose Leia. I can't bear the thought of losing her!" Han warned Vader.

"I understand, my apprentice," Vader nodded. "With Obi-Wan Kenobi destroyed, Leia will not be distracted from who she really loves--you. Now, what about the Wookiee?"

"For the time being I have that covered, but Chewie owes me a life debt," Han reminded Vader as they headed up to the cockpit.

"A Sith does not have to give up everything in his or her life in order to be a Sith," Vader told Han. "Not like the Jedi, whose Code forbade any permenant attachments. So when the time is right, once you have destroyed all your enemies, Chewbacca can return to you. Now, I take it we are leaving Tatooine?"

"As long as we don't have a fleet of Imperial ships waiting in orbit," Han responded.

"There won't be one, but perhaps we should leave in my shuttle rather than..."

"Oh no! Now you might be the Master around here, but when it comes to the _Falcon,_ the rule is, once your inside her, you don't diss her. Got it?" Han snapped.

"As you wish..." Vader answered quietly, trusting in the Force that this bucket of bolts manages to get out of the spaceport in one piece.


	16. The Two Sides of Death

Note: Near the end of the chapter, it starts getting a bit depressing/kinda gross. Just a light warning for you guys.

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 16: The Two Sides of Death

Aboard the _Phoenix_ Luke kept a close eye on Obi-Wan. Both the Jedi Master and his Padawan were aware of the wedge Vader was trying to drive between them. To Luke's thinking, the only one who could mediate things before they got totally out of control was Yoda. So when the _Phoenix_ shifted into realspace near the Dagobah system, Luke felt relieved. Of course, the weather wasn't a relief.

"This is where the fun begins," Luke murmured as he flew towards the wild swamp planet.

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked as his ship began to sway.

"I promise I'll try to make it as calm a landing as possible, Master," Luke said.

"I'm very glad I have you to pilot this ship, my Padawan. I know I could not manage entering an atmosphere like this one these days," Obi-Wan admitted.

"I think you're just out of practice, Master. This ship does a lot of the flying for you. Not like the X-wing. Or the _Falcon,"_ Luke said. Then, he noticed Obi-Wan's odd expression. "Was it something I said, Master? You look kind of upset. I thought being away from my father would help."

Obi-Wan knew better than to answer, so instead he simply patted his Padawan on the shoulder and gripped the seat a bit more tightly. He was not going to continue letting Vader's plan infect his relationship with Luke. Yes, he did feel better once he was away from Vader. To even see the Sith lord was a sharp painful reminder of how he'd failed so miserably. Luke couldn't understand this, since he didn't live it.

But he also had concerns about Han Solo, and that was what he was reacting to. Suddenly, he hated the idea of being so far away from Leia. What if they started rekindling the romance, and he wasn't there? How could he be so stupid? Obi-Wan dared a glance at Luke. His duty to train Luke must not become a burden! Yes, seeing Master Yoda again would help straighten out his priorities. It had to, for all their sakes.

After landing in the familiar swamp, Luke led Obi-Wan to Yoda's small abode. "Maybe you should wait here, Master. I'm not sure if your appearance here will shock Master Yoda more than he could handle, but I don't want to take a chance. I'll signal you?" Luke suggested.

For a moment, Obi-Wan was about to remind Luke that Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit might already have told Yoda about him. But then again, when he'd communed with Qui-Gon last, it might not even have been a communion, but a hallucination. Therefore, he nodded in agreement, to err on the side of caution.

As he watched Luke go on ahead, Obi-Wangot a grand idea. It was time for Luke to meet Qui-Gon! How could they do it? He knew that Luke could contact the netherworld easily; he had been able to hear Obi-Wan's voice in his mind even before he left the Death Star. After that, Luke had seen Obi-Wan's ethereal form many times. So Luke should have no problem seeing Qui-Gon, right? He'd speak to Yoda about it.

Meanwhile, Luke awaited Yoda by the round front door of his home. Anxiously, he watched the door open, and the small form of the Jedi Master fill it. "Master Yoda, I have returned to you as I gave my word I would do," Luke began, smiling hopefully in spite of his trepidation.

"Waited for you a long time, I have," Yoda responded, with a sort of reprimanding tone.

Luke gulped. "I know, Master Yoda. It's just that so many things have happened... Yes, I confronted Vader. And no, I was not truly ready to face him, as you had warned me," Luke conceded.

"That you are here now, shows me that you were more ready than I thought, it does," Yoda pointed out.

"You and Obi-Wan had been worried that I'd turn to the Dark Side and join him. Actually, I'm getting strong signals that Vader doesn't really _want_ me to become a Sith."

"Now believe that, I do not," Yoda said firmly.

Luke drew a deep breath. "Master Yoda, Vader did something that I never thought anyone could ever do. He...Forgive me, I don't know if you're ready for this..."

"Over nine hundred years old, I am. Seen much, heard much, felt much, in those years," Yoda assured Luke.

"Have you seen the dead walk once again?" Luke challenged him.

"Of Obi-Wan you speak," Yoda responded.

Luke gasped. "How did you know?"

"There is another who speaks to me as Obi-Wan had to you. Much to learn of the Force, you have still. Teach you, Obi-Wan and I will," Yoda assured Luke.

"Then I should bring him to you. I came with him; he's been my Jedi Master for a few months now," Luke explained as he stood upright.

"His Padawan, are you?" Yoda asked, with a very faint hint of disapproval. This caught Luke off guard; why would Yoda react that way?

"Yes, Master Yoda, but you're also still my Jedi Master too. Aren't you?" Luke asked back.

"My own counsel will I keep on whether you are my Padawan or his," Yoda answered. He sounded a bit peeved. Luke watched Yoda as he walked out of his small home and limped forth. He felt a twinge of guilt. Yoda was probably offended that Luke had a more able-bodied Jedi Master now.

While he waited for Luke, Obi-Wan wandered a bit. Then he found a large rock, so he decided to sit down and meditate. Dagobah was a much different place to him since he was in a living body now. It was warm and extremely damp. Insects buzzed around his head, and when one landed on his hand, Obi-Wan unexpectedly experienced a panic. What if he died before Vader freed him? Flies just like that one would invade his cadaver, lay their eggs in his rotting flesh... The thought made his heart race and his head spin dangerously. It was in this state that Luke and Yoda came upon him.

"Master Obi-Wan, there you are! What is it?" Luke asked as he raced to Obi-Wan's side.

"Luke, get Obi-Wan away from this place you must! Remeber what is nearby, you do?" Yoda said.

_Of course! The tree and the cave! _But surely Obi-Wan should have been able to handle being near that place of evil; he was a Jedi Master! Luke was just sure that it was his father's evilcurse on Obi-Wan that had been magnified by the cave.If only he'd been able to speak to him! Luke just sighed and led Obi-Wan away. His master was shaking and barely able to stand.

"There, how do you feel now?" Luke asked.

"Much better. I just let my mind run away from me. I sensed a terrible presence in that area. What was it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Know you what the Jedi used to do on Dagobah, Obi-Wan?" Yoda asked.

"Well, yes! The Jedi faced their Trials on Dagobah. So what?" Obi-Wan responded.

"The testing area, that was," Yoda answered simply.

"You mean..that cave is where the Jedi were tested?" Luke gasped. "But I went in there! It didn't turn out like you'd hoped! What does that mean?"

"Speak not of what you saw in there. No Jedi is to speak of the Trials," Yoda warned Luke.

"Well, I'm sure Master Obi-Wan went in there..." Luke began.

"No Luke, I haven't," Obi-Wan corrected him.

"Why not?"

"Fought and killed a Sith lord, Obi-Wan did, as a Padawan. Conferred the title of Jedi Knight, the Council did. Earned it, we felt he did. Also, to teach your father the Ways of the Force, to be a Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan needed to be," Yoda explained.

Luke gulped. Obi-Wan was just a Padawan learner himself when he took Anakin on? Inevitably, Luke did a comparison. With all the talk between Obi-Wan, his father, and even Yoda, they all felt that he was very close to earning the title of Jedi Knight. But there was so much he didn't know! He didn't think _he_ was in any shape to take on a learner of his own! Suddenly, things started getting much clearer. Poor Obi-Wan! He must have been overwhelmed! Then again, if he defeated a Sith lord...

His father was a Sith lord. His poor father!

Yoda keenly observed, "Depressing, this news is to you?"

He glanced at Yoda, then at Obi-Wan. He felt the resolve coming back to him once again, that resolve that wouldn't leave Luke, but sometimes waned if he wasn't careful. Luke stood up a bit straighter. He held his head up a bit higher, squared his shoulders a bit more. "No, Master Yoda. But if we are truly serious about bringing the Jedi back from virtual extinction, we all need to have a plan. If we're going to undo some of the vast damage that my father and his Sith master have done, we need to stick with that plan once we've got one."

"Your responsibility, that is not," Yoda pointed out. "To bring back the Jedi Order is not possible. Not wise, either."

"Master Yoda, perhaps not as the Jedi once were, but as a presence in a galaxy that needs us desperately," Obi-Wan countered.

"Now you, he has convinced?" Yoda asked incredulously. "Know you better than most, what Luke wishes to do is foolish!"

"Master Yoda, why would _Vader_ of all people bring Master Obi-Wan back if he didn't intend for me to help restore the Jedi Order?" Luke blurted out.

"For twisted revenge, Vader did this to Obi-Wan! Gave you a younger body, he did! Hmph," Yoda said.

"Master Yoda!" Obi-Wan gasped in outrage. "You can't possibly be _jealous!"_

"Jealous of you! I am not!" Yoda protested, though to Luke's ears it was a bit too loudly.

Apparently, to Obi-Wan, Yoda's protests were not convincing either. "You envy me? That is only because for all your wisdom, Master Yoda, you still have yet to experience the netherworld of the Force. If you only knew how it was, you would pity me."

"As you pity yourself," Yoda huffed.

Obi-Wan's jaw dropped. Luke felt a twist in his gut. Yoda's ears twitched. And just then, Luke's holopad buzzed. Instead of responding to Yoda's comment, Obi-Wan snapped, "I thought I told you to shut that off once we got here, my Padawan."

"Sorry, Master Obi-Wan. I'll just see who it is, then I'll shut it down," Luke promised uncomfortably. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off Obi-Wan. So Luke stalked off to read the text message left on the holopad.

It was by someone he didn't recognize: Netherworldjedi. Very intrigued, Luke read the message. _"I've been very eager to introduce myself to you, but I realized that Obi-Wan and Yoda would not be able to help you communicate with me."_

Luke texted a quick, _"HU R U?"_

The answer appeared almost instantly (it occurred to Luke that it was too quickly for it to have been actually typed in), _"I was once Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Master. My name, when I was in your realm, was Qui-Gon Jinn."_

A chill coursed through Luke. A dead man was texting him! Unless... _"R U DED?"_

_"Yes, later, you can reassure Obi-Wan that I'm still dead. Or, at least, I'm not in the living realm that you are in. I accidentally discovered the way to retain your identity in the netherworld of the Force. I have taught Yoda and Obi-Wan how to do it. I will teach you this as well, since you seem quite adept at communication with spirits. Like your father."_

Luke drew a deep breath. _"Y CANT I C U?"_ he texted.

_"Because you don't know me. I have managed to hack into your holopad to communicate with you temporarily, but I can't do this too much longer. Go back to your ship and get Obi-Wan's holopad. Open it with the password 'mitragle,' who was his all-time favorite author. Very dry stuff, but I digress. Find the file 'podrace17' which is a holographic picture. I think you'll find it intriguing."_ Wide eyed, Luke stole back onto the _Phoenix._ He kept Qui-Gon's message from beyond in view while he opened Obi-Wan's files.

At the same time, Luke's comlink chimed. Temporarily out of his trance, Luke answered with a dazed, "Yes, Master?"

"Luke, where are you?" Obi-Wan growled. "I thought you were finished with your conversation by now!"

"Are you done arguing with Master Yoda yet?" Luke countered.

"One does not argue with Master Yoda for very long, you must know that by now," Obi-Wan sighed. "I'd love to know what was so important."

"Master Obi-Wan, once I've found out, you'll be the first to know," Luke assured him, then switched off. He found the file "podrace17" in Obi-Wan's holograms folder. Well, at least his Jedi master kept his computer files very organized. As if he wouldn't. Luke thought with a jolt that Obi-Wan must have a treasure trove of holograms on this holopad! Pictures of his father, maybe even his mother...

"Podrace17" opened to reveal a holographic image of a group of people. If Luke wasn't crazy, he thought it might have been taken on Tatooine. At first, Luke didn't recognize anyone in the picture, since Obi-Wan wasn't in it. His own holopad buzzed with a new text message: _"This picture was the last one ever taken when I was 'alive.' The little boy in the middle is your father, by the way. Anakin had just won a very grueling podrace. His master, Watto, made him do it, but Ani loved to do it anyway. But it was extremely dangerous. Do you recognize your grandmother?"_

"Yes," Luke answered aloud, forgetting to text in his response. There was Grandma Shmi, looking as worn out as ever, but a bit younger than in the subsequent holos that Uncle Owen had of her from when she was married to Klee Lars. A younger woman, very beautiful and reminding Luke very much of Leia, had her arms around little Anakin. That must have been his mother! Though young, she was still older than his father! For some reason, that surprised Luke.

_"Yes, that is Padmé, and at the time, she was disguised as her own handmaiden. But she was really already the Queen of Naboo. Ani had no idea when this picture was taken that Padmé was really Queen Amidala. Neither did the Gungan--the tall alien on the other end. His name is Jar-Jar Binks. He later became a senator for Naboo, though when this picture was taken, one would never know he had the potential. By the way, recognize the R2 unit there? You should,"_ Qui-Gon's message asked.

"Artoo?" Luke gasped. "And what about that unfinished droid? No, it couldn't be..."

_"Your father built that protocol droid all by himself, except for the coverings. He was very proud of it,"_ Qui-Gon's texted message responded. _"Now, you see one more person in the picture, right? That's me."_

Luke examined the picture one more time. Sure enough, a tall, somewhat rumpled looking bearded man with long hair past his shoulders loomed behind all of them. His Jedi robes were dusty, and blended in with everything except the startling blue of the sky over his head. Obi-Wan's Jedi Master... Luke never pictured someone like Qui-Gon Jinn as Obi-Wan's Jedi Master; surely he should have been tighter, more compact, more precise. Not someone so wild looking...

_"Now, look up,"_ the last text message read. Luke looked up, and nearly bumped his head on the console above him, since he jumped back in shock. There was Qui-Gon Jinn's ethereal form, grinning back at him. "Can you hear me?" Qui-Gon asked Luke.

With a gulp, Luke answered, "Uh-huh."

"Ah, good. Now, before Obi-Wan gets annoyed with you, you'd better tell him what's going on. After that, I think I shall have to have a conversation with Master Yoda. It's amazing how much more he listens to me now that I'm dead," Qui-Gon said, broadening his grin.

Luke smiled as he switched on his comlink. "Master Obi-Wan, do you copy?"

"Yes, my Padawan. Are you done?" Obi-Wan huffed.

"I think so. I just wanted to pass along a message, from Master Qui-Gon. He just wanted to let you know he's still dead. Did I just say that?" Luke said as he switched off.

"Welcome to the Jedi's life, Luke Skywalker. Full of strange, even crazy stuff, and if you live your life right, you'll never get bored," Qui-Gon's spirit answered with that sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

_Nope,_ Luke thought, _he's definitely not what I'd pictured. But this is going to be fun!_

* * *

Sometimes, it came out in a rush, noisy and fetid. Other times, it seeped out, as though simply toxic air, but actually more solid. Well, perhaps not much more solid... The medics had warned him some time ago that if it stopped coming out one end, it could start coming out the other. Endless vomiting, stinking and vile. So, Palpatine supposed he should be grateful for the seepage.

Palpatine's health troubles began when, during one of the more humiliating tests those of advanced age were doomed to endure, cancerous cells were detected in his colon. The few cells that had been detected were removed. Or so they thought. More were discovered. More were removed. Eventually, using stem cells, the medics grew him a new colon to replace his cancerous one, and they performed the surgery.

However, one does not live as long as Palpatine had without learning that sometimes, when an imbalance is allowed to, it takes over. The stronger, more malevolent cells took over his body. The cancer had metasized, spread to his liver. His stomach. His lungs. And of course, back to his colon. His medics were baffled and alarmed. How could cancer have completely ravaged the Emperor's body like that? It was a scandal! Naturally, no one was to be told of his impending death.

Not even Darth Vader.

No, especially not his Sith apprentice. He needed now to get his own apprentice. Palpatine sent Vader off to Tatooine some time ago, with his blessing to get Luke Skywalker and bring him as soon as he could. But Palpatine worried, between his miserable treatments that left him even weaker than he had been before, that Vader was dragging his feet.

Deep down, Palpatine had always been a bit wary of Vader, who had once been Jedi Anakin Skywalker. What if the Jedi Order had been right all along? What if Anakin was supposed to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith? It did not matter that he himself was now in his deathbed. It only mattered that the Sith survived what possibly was the greatest peril they have ever faced. What if he had been wrong to take Anakin as his apprentice? What if Vader decided to simply discontinue the Sith tradition?

Luke Skywalker must not become a Jedi Knight! No Jedi may draw breath without a Sith there to counter him! Vader must not fail!

How it could have come to this was beyond him.

Palpatine now had a private, live-in nurse to help take care of him. An especially lovely human female, but quite empty-headed. She supervised droids that served him. She coordinated his visits from the team of medical specialists. She prepared his meals, such as they were these days. She was also the one who came to change him. Palpatine hated the look on his nurse's face when she performed this particular task. She spoke to him in a baby voice. As though he were a small child who had just had an accident.

Palpatine thought wickedly that one of these days, maybe he'd try to get over to his medicine cabinet and swallow down a few of the little blue pills. Then, the next time she came to change him, she'd get quite a surprise! Just a thought. And a foolish one, at that. If she started to scream, or worse, laugh, he didn't think he'd be able to bear it.

So he squelched that notion, as well as any others he had of strangling the bitch. He needed her, as much as it bruised his battered ego. It must have shown on his face when she arrived early that afternoon.

"Ooh, now, now, sweetie, you mustn't get yourself so upset. I'll bet you're due for your sponge bath..." his foolish, lovely nurse cooed as she came into his private sanctum with a tray.

"No, I want to do it myself!" he said peevishly. To illustrate his point, Palpatine struggled to get out of his huge bed.

"Of course you do," she smiled, lifting his withering body up, ignoring his pout as she undressed him. He seethed; he should have taken the little blue pills at least. She was way too sure of herself!

Just as were those who thought they had defeated Darth Sidious. As long as he had breath left in his decaying carcass, he would fight.

* * *

Hope that wasn't too bad for you. But Palps is the epitome of decayed to me, and I just thought this kind of treatment reflects that well. Let me know what you think!


	17. The Cave

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 17: The Cave

In the three months since their arrival on Dagobah, Obi-Wan had observed the rapid progress of his Padawan with relief. Once Yoda had gotten over his momentary annoyance at Obi-Wan's assumption of Luke's training, the eldest of all the Jedi Masters had become Luke's greatest champion. The thought that the Jedi Order was going to finally be restored got Yoda fired up more than even Luke had ever seen him. No doubt, Luke's enthusiasm for the monumental task propelled them forward. But hadn't it been the plan all along, ever since their last meeting with Bail Organa years before, to bring back the Jedi order when the time was right?

In truth, Obi-Wan was grateful to have something so huge to occupy his mind. Thinking of how he left things with Leia made him angry and saddened at the same time, and he could afford neither emotion to infect his soul. It was fragile enough as it was.

How would Vader react when he finds out about Luke's progress? Obi-Wan hadn't heard a thing from the Sith since that disturbing encounter on Tatooine. There was something amiss. Surely he would have tried to contact his son by now, but Luke told Obi-Wan he hadn't gotten any messages or emails either. Had Anakin possibly, by some miracle, changed his mind?

There had been some sort of correspondence from Leia, however. Luke handled it all (as Obi-Wan didn't dare even speak to her) and passed along anything important. She told Luke that there was some sort of rumor of a second Death Star being constructed. Bothan spies had gotten ahold of the plans. She sensed that it was a trap of some sort. When Luke reported that to Obi-Wan and Yoda, it made for a great debate.

"As Jedi, our responsibility it is to destroy such instruments of terror!" Yoda argued.

"Master, with all due respect, I don't beleive it wise to jump headfirst into this," Obi-Wan said.

"Surprised at your attitude, I am. What think you, Padawan Skywalker?"

"Masters, blowing up Death Stars happens to be something I'm really good at," Luke pointed out.

"I beleive Leia has the right of it. It's a trap, without a doubt. How convenient that we know the location of the station's construction, it's layout, it's specifications. In fact, it is my estimated guess that the first Death Star's plans had fallen into Leia's hands for the same reason these plans had fallen into the Bothans' hands. It was to lure the Rebel Alliance into doing something the Empire wanted. The first time, the Empire wanted to know the location of their secret base, remember? What better way to trick you into revealing it than to let you people escape with those plans? And this time, what? Lure the entire Alliance Fleet out to, Endor is it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"But Master, the station isn't fully built yet!" Luke had reminded him.

"My Padawan, search your feelings. This all feels a bit too much like a ploy. Master Yoda, trust me, it is never going to be as easy as it sounds," Obi-Wan had warned.

"Good points, you have raised, Master Kenobi. However, the Jedi cannot hide from this sort of danger. A plan, I propose. To send a small force to this Endor moon, we should. See what can be done from there, we can. But before we do this, something from Luke, we must have."

Luke had asked, "What is that?"

"Face the Trials, you must. A fully trained Jedi you must be before we leave for Endor. Yes, yes, to the cave, you must return."

Obi-Wan hadn't expected this. Obi-Wan watched Luke. He could tell his Padawan was trying to keep from whooping with joy, instead trying to approach the whole idea of the Trials as something far more trivial. It would have worked had Luke's blue eyes not grown twice as brilliant as they had been a mere moment ago!

"I thought that cave was a bad place!" Obi-Wan commented. "Why would you want to go back in there?"

"Master, I'm ready to face whatever that cave throws at me. I'm certain it will be different this time than last time. And it's just as well," he shrugged. "When do I go back, Master Yoda?"

"Soon, Padawan, very soon," Yoda assured him.

* * *

Yes, it had been three months since he'd last spoken to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader reflected as he watched Han Solo work on his levitation exercises. On one hand, he was curious about Luke's progress, but on the other hand, he found himself not wanting to know. After all, his son may very well be taking the Jedi Trials at any moment. Astonishing progress! It wounded Vader, to think that his son made such progress under _Yoda's_ and _Obi-Wan's_ tutelage! But despite his _vast_ fury at the boy, Vader couldn't help but be proud of him. Anakin Skywalker had waited twelve years to take the Trials from the time he was taken into the Order. And that was considered rapid progress! Luke had done it in about a third of the time! _What a difference when you didn't have the stodgy Jedi Council to deal with!_ Vader couldn't understand why in the world Luke would want to restore it! It was almost ironic, really. The Jedi Council had been completely dead set against rapid progress. Surely someone like Mace Windu would have choked on his own bile if he'd ever met Luke.

But if there was anybody who should be proud of himself, in Vader's view, it should be Han Solo! Mace Windu would have spontaneously combusted had he seen what a _Wilder_ like the former smuggler had been able to accomplish!

And he would be the key to Vader's freedom, at last, from all his masters...

* * *

Obi-Wan meditated again on the same rock where he'd first had that terrible panic attack three months ago. It had been located near the very cave where the Jedi got tested. He himself had never gone in there. Would Luke really be ready to face what was inside? Anakin had gone in there, to get tested. He'd come out with no problem. And then look what had become of him! What if, all those years ago, the Jedi had promoted Obi-Wan the proper way, making him test instead of simply granting him the title of Jedi Knight because he'd destroyed Darth Maul? If he'd known what might face Ani in the cave, would he have been better able to prepare him? Sure, one could argue that it was all a moot point now, but what about Luke?

Obi-Wan could sense the Dark Side thriving not even a hundred meters away. Slowly, he slid off the rock, and edged nearer to the cave. A copse of trees seemed to gate the place, barring it from intruders. A vague mist seeped forth. Obi-Wan's heart hastened as he approached them, slid his way between them, and descended into the mouth of the cave. The mist wrapped around him. Looking ahead, his eyes could only find endless darkness.

Or was there?

A flash of red light blazed through the darkness. It was unmistakably a lightsaber. Vader? But wait, it wasn't; the Force Signature Obi-Wan sensed was not his former Padawan's. It was unfamiliar to him. But in a few moments, as he drew ever closer to it, Obi-Wan could see a pair of yellow eyes glinting at him. A few meters closer, and the man's face was suddenly visible.

It was Han Solo!

_"Sith!_ Obi-Wan spat like a curse.

Solo's eyes sparkled with malevolence as he answered, "That's right, _Jedi!"_

Without a second thought, Obi-Wan's lightsaber was in hand, blazing it's own blue light. His advance was much swifter now. Solo seemed unconcerned that he was about to die. It looked a bit alien to Obi-Wan, seeing that red lightsaber in the hand of someone like Solo. He'd never sensed the Force was with him before! How did this happen?

"And to think that Princess Leia fought so hard to free someone like _you,"_ Obi-Wan sneered. "Perhaps your Sith Master forgot to warn you that my specialty happens to be separating Sith Apprentices from their body parts."

"We'll see, won't we?" was all Solo said in response, and then, with dizzying speed, the duel was on! Deeper into the cave, Han and Obi-Wan persued their deadly clash.

And Obi-Wan had to admit that Han Solo was far better at lightsaber dueling than he'd ever suspected! But the Dark Side was definitely helping him, giving him an edge. Obi-Wan was determined that he would not give in to anger to gain that same edge! After ducking one of Solo's closer sweeps, Obi-Wan managed to say, "Rather good swordwork for someone who supposedly hates using 'hokey religions and ancient weapons!'"

Warily, Solo stayed his red blade and answered, "Yeah, well, part of my training at the Imperial Naval Academy was sparring with edge weapons. Much like lightsabers, those things were. Not really useful for much, though, not like these babies. I admit, I have found a new respect for them."

"Ah, that expains it, then. Your master could never have taught you to use a lightsaber so well. It's a pity you'll die before Luke gets to see you use your skills," Obi-Wan said grimly.

"It's a pity you're going to die before Luke, or Leia for that matter, finds out that I have them at all," Han countered, then raised the red lightsaber once again. Obi-Wan blocked this blow, then that one, but as the battle continued, sending them deeper into the cave, Obi-Wan found himself more and more on the defensive.

Obi-Wan could see that same fury in Solo's eyes that had been in Anakin's, once. That same surge of savagery that had driven Anakin to try and kill him with his bare hands. But Han sol was not Anakin, and surely Obi-Wan would find a way to prevail--

The hot red blade slid through Obi-Wan's midsection, effortlessly sapping all of his power. From the look in Han's eyes, Obi-Wan could tell that he was surprised that his thrust had landed so true. But the real surprise, and fear, was in Obi-Wan's own heart as he sunk to his knees. Han Solo's lightsaber retreated, but it's damage was done. Obi-Wan Kenobi was going to die again.

If only it was going to be so easy. The lightsaber thrust hadn't hurt nearly as much as he'd thought it would. It was the death itself that was going to be agony beyond agony. Why, oh, why had he been lured into this cave?

Solo watched him in silence for a few moments, gloating. But soon his yellow eyes dissolved back to their usual color, and his brows drew down. "What's going on with you? What is this?" he asked in slow shock and anger.

"Dead, but not dead," Obi-Wan murmured through his stiffening lips. Han Solo looked horrified. _Yes, fool, your Sith Master is endlessly evil, and now, I have failed in my effort to keep Leia safe from you._ That thought only increased Obi-Wan's agony. Now, he and Leia would never be... Only now, writhing in the dirt at a Sith Lord's feet, trapped in a dead carcass that shall surely begin it's decay any moment, did Obi-Wan realize he wanted desperately to live!

"Whatever this is, it ain't right, that's for sure! I'm taking you to the only one who might be able to fix this. I wasn't counting on this happening," Solo muttered angrily.

Just then, the ominous breath echoed through the cave. To Obi-Wan's cold ears, it was a mocking sound to remind him that life was just a breath away, if he could only take it. But he couldn't. "Leave him there, my Apprentice. You have done well, and I am sorry that this unfortunate business of Obi-Wan's curse has gotten in the way of your revenge on him. Now, you must leave us. I have unfinished business with my former master," Vader ordered Han.

Han began to retreat, but only after he said, "This...isn't right. You _are_ going to fix it, aren't you?"

"Of course it will be fixed. Now, get back to the _Falcon,_ and remain there until I return," Vader said. Han left then, and Vader began pacing around Obi-Wan's supine form. "It appears that he still has a few things to learn about the Dark Side yet. It's alright; I have years to teach him the lessons you taught me..."

"Anakin, please," Obi-Wan gasped.

"Oh, you must have overheard me saying to my apprentice that I'd fix this for you, didn't you?" Vader's breath of a laugh made Obi-Wan's slightest hope dissolve like a puff of smoke. "As much as he hates you, and let me tell you, he _despises_ you, even he can't stand seeing what's becoming of you. His concern for you is just a reminder that the Dark Side has not changed him as much as he'd thought it would. Just as the Dark Side of the Force has not really changed me as much as you and everyone else had thought it would. It just makes us more powerful, that's all. Nothing scary about it, nothing nearly so horrible as you'd been taught, Obi-Wan. If only you would recognize it's power, you would not be in this humiliating predicament now."

Obi-Wan saw the toe of Vader's boot set before him. Reaching with his dead limbs, he touched it. He wanted to sob, but dead tears are dry ones. Vader saw the gesture, quelled the urge to react to it. But Vader did reach down, take Obi-Wan's hand into his, and knelt down next to his dying former master. Obi-Wan's blue eyes were starting to blend in more and more with the rest of his face.

Vader's helmet shook. "Look at you. Look at me. Look at what we've done to eachother. And for what? What was so important that we had to hurt eachother like this?" Vader's voice sounded agonized to Obi-Wan's ears.

_"Palpatine,"_ Obi-Wan rasped.

Vader's voice turned cold. "He will soon find himself One with the Force, be assured of that. Now that I have my Apprentice, his death is only a matter of time. And then, my children will finally be safe. Do you want to hear a dirty secret, Obi-Wan?" Vader asked as he smoothed Obi-Wan's red hair back. "Palpatine is the one who told me I could actually bring people back from death. Save them from dying. He couldn't do it himself, and my greatest regret now is that I never learned in time to save Padmé. Don't you see, _this_ is why I joined him. He said we'd be able to discover the secret. I started to doubt him, but when I began really experimenting, I found out he'd been telling the truth all along. But I won't be using this power to save him from death. Does that make me a bad person, Master?"

"You are still so confused," Obi-Wan managed to eke from his blue lips.

"I am not confused. I _was_ confused, but not anymore. Right now, you are the one who is confused, Obi-Wan. The power of the mind is so vast, it still amazes me sometimes. It can make things seem so real if you _know_ that they are the way your mind thinks they are. For example, for five years, I had just _known_ that I'd killed my wife. If you hadn't kept my children from me, I would have known all along that she didn't die by my hand. But because I didn't know that my children had survived, I thought, deep down, that I deserved what you did to me. Not because I'd helped destroy your precious Jedi Order, but because I had killed the most precious things that had ever been in my life. All because of my anger with you. Yes, I actually thought that my limbs, my skin, my lungs had been an even trade off for my sins.

"But then, to find out that Bail Organa was raising my daughter, it changed everything for me. I no longer had the guilt that I once had. The Jedi Order was destroyed, but as I have said, I have no remorse over that. Padmé had died just as I'd known she would all along. And what you did to me became much more unjust in my mind than it had been. The need for revenge, true revenge against you, began to consume my thoughts. When you popped up on the Death Star four years ago, I _still_ hadn't done what I should have done. And do you know why I still didn't, even then? It was for the same pathetic reason I hadn't finished you off on Mustafar."

Vader rose from the ground, peered down at Obi-Wan, and announced, "Until today, I never really thought I could bring myself to leave you writhing in agony as you did to me. But now, right this second, you see me at my absolute worst. Because I'm turning my back on you, the same way you turned your back on me." And with that, Vader swept away, and Obi-Wan saw only the endless black of his cape blending into the cave's darkness.

Surely he _hadn't been_ this cruel! Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Jedi Master! What had made him do _this_ to his Padawan? He recalled that awful day. Anakin's blazing yellow eyes, bellowing his hatred toward Obi-Wan, even as he clawed his way upward with his only remaining mechanical limb...

That was the same person who had reached his hand down into Gundark nests to pull his beloved master from certain death. The same young boy whose blue eyes glinted with teasing mischief as he purposely botched his Force exercises, just to get Obi-Wan to laugh along with his giggles. The same person who had emerged from this very cave, with that grin on his face, making Obi-Wan Kenobi possibly the proudest man in the entire galaxy that day. And _this person_ was the same one that Qui-Gon Jinn had died while extracting a promise from Obi-Wan _to train._ His unquestioning belief in the Chosen One had made those final words come forth.

_The Chosen One._ Able to bring people back from the dead, his power being so great. And Obi-Wan had nearly destroyed him. But he wasn't gone. _He couldn't be gone!_ This belief made _Obi-Wan's_ final words come forth, at last.

_"Anakin, I'm sorry."_

* * *

Guess what, I'm back to updating! Also, I'm going to try an experiment. I'm starting a Forum for this story, because I've been noticing in some of the reviews that Very Strong feelings are being expressed about Certain Pairings and other things, so I thought, hey, maybe a Forum should be started so people could discuss their Feelings. I'm hoping that the forum will be up and running as you read this. Let me know what you think! 


	18. The Powers of the Mind

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 18: The Powers of the Mind

Vader heard the words. So faint, so weak, and yet they rang through the dark cave like a bell. The Dark Lord held his breath, made no motion, no sound. Was it just a trick of his overwrought mind? Surely he'd walked too far away to hear Obi-Wan by now, hadn't he?

They were words he'd been longing to hear for _years,_ only he never knew it until just now. Vader had no idea he'd needed to hear them, and had thought, until that moment, that he didn't care one bit about Obi-Wan Kenobi and what he thought of him. But he did! _Damn that man!_ Vader thought in fury. _How does he always manage to get through, even now, when I despise him more than ever?_

He closed his eyes behind his helmet, and muttered to himself, "You damned fool..." With a metallic sigh, Vader turned around and stomped back over to Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master's eyes were slightly open, and he was still. No breath came from him. Vader shook his head. "You're pathetic, you know that!" Obi-Wan blinked slowly. _"Now_ you're sorry?" To Vader's great surprise, he felt tears threatening to well up. "I'm such a damned fool..."

Obi-Wan wanted to swallow, but couldn't. He could speak no more, which didn't matter anymore since he'd said what he wanted to say. The Force was very much disturbed between the two of them in the cave. It was doing things Obi-Wan didn't know could happen, and Vader didn't understand very well.

But as things were, Vader had to do all the talking. "It must be the power of the mind," he commented, referring to the strains, the threads of the Force weaving around Obi-Wan. "When I went to Tatooine recently, I walked around Mos Espa (in disguise of course). I saw Watto's old shop. I felt my right arm start to crawl, because I had always known that Watto's sensor implant was in that arm.But Obi-Wan, I _lost_ that arm on Geonosis! When I saw the junk shop that my alien master had run, my body remembered it."

Obi-Wan wanted to say something in response. Like he understood what Vader was saying; he'd heard Luke speak of phantom pains in his own right hand. But how could this be in any way relevant to his present situation?

"For thosefive years after our duel, I thought I needed to suffer because I'd killed my wife. When I found out that wasn't the case, I decided that I'dbeen punishedlong enough for what I'd done..." Vader muttered as he started removing his helmet. Obi-Wan was about to try and speak on last time again, asking him what he thought he was about, but when he saw Vader's _hair(!)_ all he could do was gasp.

Which, of course, had required him to draw a breath.

Vader's eyes resembledhot blue stars blazing with his sinister glare. In response to Obi-Wan's expression of half-dead shock, the slightest smirk crossed his perfect, angry lips. "Guess what you just did, Obi-Wan? You just _breathed!"_ Vader slipped his rebreather back on, turning Vader's signature breath back on in order to set a pace for Obi-Wan in a mocking sort of way. Eventually, however, Vader grew bored with amusing himself at Obi-Wan's expense. So he slowly took the rebreather off, like it had been a masquarade all along. "Surprised? I don't know why you should be. Why would I keep myself in that condition, on a rebreather, no less, when the technology that's available nowadays is so extraordinary?This is the armyou had cut off, the left one. I had the medical specialists use my DNA to grow a new one..." Vader took his left glove off, and a pale hand waved at Obi-Wan. "Virtually everything you did to me on Mustafar, I was able to undo, so to speak. Except for the scars that the surgeons couldn't fix, the ones that go far deeper than skin, or lungs. Those scars, my old master, are just now, just right now, starting to heal," Vader reported as he settled down next to Obi-Wan's prone form.

"I can breathe?" Obi-Wan said so softly, it seemed like he'd mouthed the words.

"Hmmm... A little slow on the uptake today, I see," Vader commented. "Very well, let me spell it out for you. You're not dead, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan pushed himself up with his hands, until he was able to sit up. "I'm alive! But this wound--"

"Is hardly fatal," Vader finished dryly. "The one thing I don't understand is how such an intelligent person like you are could have fallen for my ruse so completely," Vader mused, shaking his head.

It was such an _Anakin_ thing, that smirk, that head shake. Obi-Wan _so_ wanted to strike Vader, no, Anakin, that his hand was tingling. "I never was dead, was I?"

"Nope," Anakin answered. "Does that wound hurt you? Let me do some Healing for you."

"Absolutely not! Not until you tell me what possessed you to do this to me!" Obi-Wan ordered.

"Well, if you're going to be that way..." Anakin made an elegant shrug; Obi-Wan, through his fury, noticed that Anakin's face was even more expressive than it had been before. It was as if he forgot he wasn't wearing the mask. "I felt I had to convince you to do my bidding in some dire manner. So, I told you that you'd be trapped in your own dead body if you tried to kill yourself, or got yourself killed. Don't look at me like that; how was I supposed to know you'd actually _believe me?_ You know, I've heard of hysterical illness, even hysterical pregnancies, but I've never heard of _hysterical death!"_

_"What the hell do you mean, I shouldn't have believed you?"_ Obi-Wan roared. _"This is so typical of you Anakin!"_ Obi-Wan's limbs, previously numb, like they'd all been "asleep," started to wake up, and the tingling from the blood beginning to run through his veins again made him shudder and forget about the next sentence in his tirade. For the moment. Obi-Wan promised himself that Anakin was going to pay dearly for this...

Meanwhile, Anakin in Vader's black armor worked very hard to suppress an evil grin. "I wonder if you would have really died had I not come back. Han's lightsaber blow did not hit any vital organs. But if you weren't breathing, and your heart wasn't beating... I guess you might have died. Would that be the very first time someone died from thinking he was already dead?" he wondered. "Well, now, you know the truth." Anakin sighed. "I suppose, because of my weakness in being unable to stand your suffering, that it means you won't be training Luke any longer."

Obi-Wan grit his teeth, forcing himself to concentrate on speaking again, despite his pain. "No, it doesn't!" he said.

"You mean you're not going to run and kill yourself the first chance you get?" Anakin sneered.

Obi-Wan shook his head emphatically; after all, he just recalled how he wanted nothing more than life. Now that he had it, with no strings attached, he was not going to cross back into the netherworld anytime soon.

Not with Leia now, suddenly, far more accessible than she had been...

"Oh, let me guess, you're all wrapped up now with this foolish idea of my son's. Bring back the Jedi Order," Anakin said derisively. "Sure, only a young fool like him would try something like that when both his father and his best friend are Sith Lords. I don't think you can get any morecredibility than that, can you?" he asked with sarcasm. Obi-Wan's look became dirtier with each passing second, until finally, Anakin laughed. "You look so cute when you get mad, did I ever tell you? Your eyes narrow _like this_ and you get all flushed in the face. _It's adorable!_ I don't suppose you'd like that Healing now, would you?"

"You've fooled everyone for years! Everyone thought you were permenantly scarred. Even your son thought it!" Obi-Wan growled. "And yes, since you're offering, I've had enough of feeling like this!"

Anakin had the Force ready to go, and it set to work on the lightaber wound in Obi-Wan's midsection. In the meantime, he continued to speak, though in a vague, distracted sort of way. "Hmm... what happened to your leg? Someone used the Force to heal it. Yes! It's Leia. _Obi-Wan, she's got her very own Force signature._ Like she'd signed her name on your leg cast..." Obi-Wan heard the voice of a proud father that moment...

Proper Healing, done by a Jedi Adept, would not have left such a mark. But Obi-Wan didn't care that Leia's bit of the Force was on him now and forever. "No wonder she thinks she's in love with you. Oh, yes, I know all about that foolishness. That, actually, is how my Apprentice came to be in my service. You see, he found you two kissing on Tatooine. And Han Solo, not knowing you like I do, not knowing how sexually repressed you are, thought that this was a Great Tragedy. Just to clue you in on how angry he is with you, and why." Anakin's Healing was complete, and much to Obi-Wan's relief, he left his leg alone. "Hmph! You're quite welcome, Obi-Wan," Ani remarked when he saw Obi-Wan's brooding expression. "Now, as for your other comments before, yes, I allowed the legend of Darth Vader's scars of battle to continue for many years. After all, Darth Vader without his mask on would be unrecognizable, now wouldn't he? This mask I wear is not the same sort I'd worn when I really was suffering, disabled. Besides, it adds to the mystique, doesn't it?" Anakin put his black helmet back on, and _became_ Darth Vader, Palpatine's mad creation, once again.

"Yes, I supposed if there ever was someone who was a legend in his own mind, it's you," Obi-Wan remarked peevishly.

"Try to be nice, Obi-Wan, I'm baring my soul to you, after all."

"Alright, I suppose I'm glad you aren't suffering any longer. At least not physically," Obi-Wan sighed.

"And I'm glad you're not writhing around half dead at my feet too. I admit that if I had not been able to fix a lot of the damage that had been done to me, I would not have been able to forgive you as easily."

Obi-Wan's jaw dropped. It was just as Qui-Gon had said when he'd been deliriously half-dead from his broken leg on board the _Phoenix!_ The sly specter had known it all along! Anakin _was_ on the verge of forgiving him! And Obi-Wan had not even known, consciously, that he'd been sorry about what he'd done before today. Subconsciously, he must have known he was sorry all along. Or why would he have exiled himself to Tatooine? Why would he not have joined the growing Rebel Alliance, if he had not been busy punishing himself?

He needed Anakin's forgiveness all along, if only so he could forgive himself, and finally move on. And now, he had it.

Vader backed away slowly, and put his finger to the permenant frowning grating of his mask, as though to keep Obi-Wan from speaking. The hissing breath retreated along with his deep black form, until both were gone.

_Keep quiet about what happened in here. This is the lesson of the cave. Neither Luke, nor Yoda, nor anyone else, is to know of what happened here in the cave._

But surely, he must tell Leia about Han Solo's fall to the Dark Side! Surely then, he'd have her heart all to himself, wouldn't he? Now, teaching Luke wasn't a grim task anymore. Now, it was the first step on the long journey towards restoring the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan could sense his Padawan just outside the cave. He leaped to his feet and rushed outside, overjoyed that he was actually able to do so.

"Master? What happened? Why did you go in there?" Luke gasped.

Obi-Wan was about to speak, but then remembered the rule about secrecy fo the cave. "I...well, I suppose I wanted to see for myself." But damn! He needed to tell Luke about Han Solo!

"Master, I know it can freak you out! But just remember; nothing that happens in the cave is real," Luke said.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan's jubilation at his newfound freedom evaporated. "But...But it seemed like everything that had happened really happened! Luke, it _did_ happen!"

Luke bowed his head a bit sympathetically. "I know how real it can seem. But, Master, honest, it isn't. Master Yoda is getting worried; he suspected you might have gone in here, and sent me to get you back out."

"I...can't believe it wasn't real," Obi-Wan maintained stubbornly. Luke said nothing, and Obi-Wan followed him sullenly. Maybe Luke was right; after all, it was pretty unbelievable that Vader was forgiving him, that he was restored to the way he used to look years ago, and of course, Obi-Wan thought bleakly, Han Solo wasn't Force-Sensitive.

"What's wrong? Is something bothering you, Master?" Luke asked with concern.

"Please, tell Master Yoda I'll be right back." Obi-Wan turned around and ran back to the cave. He reached out with the Force. But he could not feel any other presence. Not the familiar Force signature of his former Padawan (and _he_ was very difficult to hide) nor was there that unfamiliar sensation of "Han Solo." Was he going mad?

Dismayed, Obi-Wan sat down on that rock again, not wanting to let go of the feeling that he'd been free for just a few moments. He closed his eyes, the tears of despair threatened to blind him anyway. "Master..." he whispered, "you said he'd forgive me!"

Obi-Wan felt Qui-Gon's presence at once. "And so he has." Obi-Wan opened his eyes to see Qui-Gon seated beside him on the large rock. "You were just there in the cave! Didn't you hear him? He forgave you!"

"But Master Qui-Gon, it wasn't _real!_ There's no hope! I'm a walking-dead monster created by the child _you_ had entrusted me to train. And what's worse, far worse now, is my betrayal of the Jedi Order in my own heart. I have tried denying it, tried to kill it, tried everything I could think of to keep from feeling it, but there's no use. _I love her, Master!"_ Obi-Wan said in quiet anguish.

"Oh, Obi-Wan Kenobi... There you wallow in your own misplaced sense of sin again. I recall you used to get like this on Tatooine, when I visited you. I thought the change in scenery here might have altered that tendency, but I suppose not. If you were only thinking straight, you would realize that your freedon _is_ real. If what happened in the cave had not been real, then why do you have _a hole in your robes?"_ Qui-Gon winked as Obi-Wan gaped, then he dissolved.

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated this more quickly, but I'd been fighting off a bad infection for the past few weeks. And incidentally, don't forget the Forum. If people aren't interested in it, then I'll take it down, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm planning about 2 more chapters for this story, then it's going to continue into the sequel story, Legacy of the Jedi. 


	19. Darth Jerk and Jedi Master Wormie

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 19: Darth Jerk and Jedi Master Wormie

Vader was on his holocom as he boarded the _Falcon._. Han was bursting with about a thousand questions, but didn't dare interrupt. Han still could barely stand it. Not only had he failed to kill Kenobi, he had been _worried_ about that snake! Fear crept into every molecule of his being. What was he going to do now? He'd heard the horror stories of what had happened to those who'd failed Vader in the past. Was he going to become another one of those losers?

But apparently, Vader had other concerns. One thing about him; he didn't waste time once he got started!

"What do you mean, the Emperor's not there? He _has_ to be there; he was planning on overseeing the final stages himself!" Vader argued with the small figure on a holocom.

"Lord Vader, I'm sorry, but the Emperor never made it here. He sent me in your place, to oversee the Death Star's completion," the figure answered.

Yeah, Han had been hearing the rumors for a long time, even before Hoth, that Palpatine wasn't done with trying to make his pet project work. Apparently, he'd gotten the thing almost rebuilt. Whoever Vader was talking to, he had to be important; he could see that the man's uniform was white, which meant it was a Grand Admiral that Vader was browbeating...

"Well, Thrawn, where could he be?" Vader asked with an exaggerated patience.

"I can only assume he's still on Coruscant," Grand Admiral Thrawn answered.

"I must say, this is not at all like you, Admiral! You usually are never this inefficient! What do you mean, you can only _assume_ that the Emperor is on Coruscant?" Vader snapped. "If he wasn't coming, then why didn't someone, either him, or even you, contact me?"

"With all due respect, Lord Vader, I was given very strict instructions from the Emperor himself not contact you under any circumstances."

Vader didn't respond at first. Of course. Palpatine must have known that he was training his apprentice. After considering this for a moment, Vader asked slowly, "Well, you are speaking to me now, aren't you? Why is that?"

"Two reasons, Lord Vader. First of all, you contacted me; I did not contact you," Grand Admiral Thrawn pointed out in his usual, insufferably precise way. "Second, I am as concerned as you are about the Emperor. He has not seen fit to contact me. I'm on full alert for this Rebel Fleet that is supposed to be coming here. Perhaps he thought better of coming here if there was going to be an imminent attack?"

"Unlikely; he was quite confident of the Death Star's abilities, along with the fool-proof nature of his plan. Only something dire could have kept him. I will get to the bottom of this, make no mistake." He signed off, then growled, "Damn those fools! How do you lose your own Emperor?"

"Um, I don't know if you want my opinion or not..." Han began with his heart hammering up into his throat.

"I would very much like to hear you opinion, my apprentice. After all, you served in the Imperial Navy. Maybe you could illuminate me," Vader growled.

"Um, I was just thinkin' that G-A Thrawn isn't terribly interested in Palpatine's whereabouts, as long as he isn't there. And he sure doesn't want _you_ there either."

"I have a bad feeling about all this. In fact, the more time passes, the more it feels wrong," Vader said. "I want you to go back to the Rebel Alliance and reintegrate yourself with them. Pick up Chewbacca. Find my daughter. In the meantime, I must return to Coruscant. Darth Sidious is up to something, and I want to make sure no more planets get blown up before I figure out what it is!"

"Wait a minute! How are you going to get there without me? You've got no ship!" Han pointed out.

"I have my methods. Don't worry about me; it would be better now if we were separated anyway. It will throw Kenobi and these other Jedi fools off track."

"You mean to say that he's still alive?" Han felt sickness creep into his stomach. "Look, I know I screwed up before," Han began.

"How did you 'screw up?'" Vader asked. "Your duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi could not have gone better. You are still alive. Moreover, you didn't even lose any body parts. No, I'm afraid it was my fault things didn't go the way you'd planned."

"You mean you're not gonna kill me?" Han blurted out.

"Pay attention, Solo, because I'm not going to tell you again. The Sith master cannot kill his or her apprentice once they've taken one on!"

"Even if he loses his temper and does the chokie-chokie thing? Just asking!" Han quipped when he saw Vader cross his arms with silent annoyance. "As it happens, I _did_ remember you sayin' that. So you don't have to worry that all that alcohol affecting my brain."

Vader was a bit startled by that comment. "Hmm, it appears your mind powers are sharpening. I _do_ think about your excessive alcohol consumption, but I worry more about your liver than you brain. At this point."

"Oh, great! You think I need a twelve-step program? Yeah, I can just picture this: 'Hi, I'm Darth Han, and I'm an alcoholic..._Hi, Darth!'"_ Han snorted.

"No, you're name is not going to be _Darth Han,_ I told you... But you know, I'm going to have to think of a really good name for you," Vader mused.

"How about 'Darth Jerk,'" Han sighed with sudden disgust.

"Quite the suggestion. And just why do you think I should name you, _my Sith Apprentice,_ something like that?" Vader asked.

Han shook his head unhappily. "I can't stand the guy! Why couldn't I just let him rot?" Han growled.

"Why couldn't I? When he'd left me alone on that cliffside?" Vader countered.

"I think I know the answer, but you ain't gonna like it," Han ventured.

"And what might that answer be, my apprentice?"

Han sighed deeply. "I guess we're just a lousy pair of Sith lords."

Vader's back stiffened. "That's because we are allowing ourselves to get distracted with our issues. We need to get back on track. We are allowing ourselves to get distracted too easily."

"Well, G-A Thrawn at the steering wheel of a Death Star might qualify as a legitimate distraction, don't you think?" Han shot back.

"Well, he will not dare do anything without specific orders from the Emperor. And those orders will never come, I can personally guarantee that. But just to be on the safe side, perhaps you ought to find out why your rebel friends haven't attacked Endor yet," Vader suggested.

"Hey look, I'm not doin' any spyin' on them, even if you are my master. Just because I'm studying from you doesn't mean the Emperor is suddenly a good guy or suddenly the right person to run the galaxy!" Han warned.

"I don't need you to spy for me, my apprentice," Vader answered with that assurance that set Han on edge. That tone that said he already knew what was going to happen, that he was going to get his way as usual.

"What about Kenobi?" Han threw back at him.

"When you meet with him, just do what I told you to do. And all will be well. You do remember what I taught you to do, right?" Vader asked in a very crafty voice.

"Yeah, I remember. I'm doing it right now," Han reported.

"Excellent. Remember, it is the secret of the Sith's power. I'm sure the look on Kenobi's face when he sees you again will almost be worth leaving him alive to see. Now, go. When I need you again, I will contact you. May the Force be with you," Vader said.

"Yeah, may the Force be with you too," Han responded, feeling uncertainty gnaw at his stomach.

* * *

Luke took a steadying breath. The last time he entered the cave, he had known there might be some significance to it, but he had no idea of just how much importance was really placed on the Trial of the Cave until that moment. If he got out of the cave, he would be a Jedi Knight! He turned to Obi-Wan, who nodded once, showing no trace of anxiety or uncertainty. Then he locked eyes with Yoda, who stood upon a rock. Suddenly, Yoda's and Obi-Wan's lightsabers glowed in the misty darkness.

"Who comes to the cave?" Yoda asked.

"I bring my Padawan Learner, Luke Skywalker, to face the Trial of the Spirit," Obi-Wan answered.

"Passed the Trial of Skill and Trial of the Flesh, he has?" Yoda asked Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan answered, "Yes, Master Yoda. The Trial of Skill was passed many times over, first by destroying the first Death Star, and most recently when he raised that elevator so I could escape that building. As for the Trial of the Flesh, Darth Vader saw to it that Luke endured a harrowing Trial indeed. The Trial of the Spirit is the only one that remains."

"Agree with these things, I do. Enter the Cave that Mirrors the Spirit, you must." With a glance to his side, Yoda noted Luke's lightsaber already beside him on the rock. This time, Luke knew he would not be needing it.

With a small bow, Luke turned to face the Cave that Mirrors the Spirit. Odd, Luke had been under the impression that the cave had been a place filled with the Dark Side. Well, he decided to put that thought aside for now. All would become clearer with time...

Luke walked for a length of time. Nothing of any conseqence was around him, but up ahead, he saw some welcoming bright light. He smiled when he saw where he was; Camie was lounged in her usual spot, on Fixer's lap. Windy was wiping down a vaporator part. Deak was playing with a beat-up droid's speakers.

He was at Toshi Station! He'd meant to get over there on his last visit to Tatooine, but because Jabba's Palace had been closer to Mos Espa, he didn't have time to travel to Anchorhead. Leia had berated him for wanting to go back.

Windy finally looked up from his task. He blinked, shook his head, then wiped his hand on the front of his mechanic's jumpsuit. "Well, I'll be damned! Luke Skywalker!"

"Fix? Did you just hear Windy say that Luke Skywalker's in town?" Camie asked drowsily.

"Yeah, Cam. He's right there," Fixer answered with a touch of wonder in his voice.

"Hey everybody! What's going on?" Luke said with excitement.

Windy gaped. "I heard you'd got killed, with your aunt and uncle. Are you real, or a ghost?"

"Windy, since when did you beleive in ghosts? I'm no ghost!" Luke nearly laughed. Surely Windy couldn't be serious!

"Well! If you weren't dead, what kept you away so long? And where's Biggs?" Windy asked.

Luke bowed his head. Biggs used to be his best friend. He'd hooked up with Rebel Alliance people who had contacts at the Imperial Academy, where Biggs had gone while Luke remained on Tatooine to help his uncle with vaporators. "Biggs is dead, Windy. _He's_ the one who died, not me. But he died nobly, in an X-wing fighter, during the attack on the Death Star. I'm sure you've all heard about that," Luke added a bit sarcastically.

Fixer, after removing Camie from his lap, came around from his side of the workbench. "Sure, even _we_ heard about the Death Star. What are you trying to say? That _you_ were there, and you saw it happen?" he asked derisively.

Windy laughed and added, "Yeah, we all know how much you wanted to get into the thick of things."

_If they only knew..._ Luke began to think, but then cut it off. The urge to tell them that _he_ had made the shot that destroyed the superweapon came over him, but he squelched it. Instead, he crossed his arms and glanced at each one of them. Not one of them had changed at all. It was just like the last time he'd been there, when he'd dashed into town to tell them all about the space battle that had been taking place right over their heads. Which they would have seen, if only they had looked up. But that was just it. Windy never believed him. And Fixer was never the type to look up.

"Would you take a look at those clothes he's wearing?" Deak breathed fearfully.

"What?" Luke asked, glancing down at his Jedi robes. He looked no different than Obi-Wan did when he ran around Tatooine as Ben, only not as old, obviously. Everybody looked him over in turn, but none of them seemed to see what Deak saw, yet.

"Yeah, what?" Camie whined. She ambled over to Luke, and for one second, Luke had forgotten that five years had passed since he'd had a major crush on her. Her sandy hair was just as he remembered it, and her cat's eyes blinked at him.

Deak hissed, "Camie, don't! Can't you see, he's a _Jedi Knight?"_

"Oh, Deak, stop being stupid. Luke Skywalker wasn't Jedi material. That would be like sayin' Camie was Jedi material! Nobody from 'round these parts ever becomes anything more than moisture farmers or Jabba's hoods or mistresses!" Fixer pronounced.

"Fixer, Deak is right. I became a Jedi," Luke told him.

"See, he even admits it! Get out Jedi! I didn't do anything! You can't do no mind tricks on me, see, I got this good luck charm! It keeps people like you away!" Deak gasped, holding out a Jappor Snippet.

"Deak, knock it off!" Camie snapped. "Gee, Luke, you sure got Deak all crazed. Dressing up like a Jedi! How did you know that would freak him out?"

"Truthfully, I didn't realize it would," Luke said, "but I should have, I suppose."

"Hmph! _Truthfully, I didn't realize it would._ Since when did you get so...uppity?" Fixer snorted.

Luke was about to retort, _Since I found out I'm Darth Vader's son!_ But he didn't let the words out. The thought shocked him. Imagine if these guys found out about that!

"What's the matter, Fix? Jealous?" Camie shot back. Fixer sat back at his workbench, not answering.

"Forgive me. I didn't realize my reappearance here would upset everyone so much," Luke admitted.

"Well, I'm not upset, Luke. I'm just glad you're alright," Windy assured him.

Luke nodded once, in a typical Jedi manner. Deak eyed him very warily, crept back to the droid he'd been dissecting. Camie eyed Deak, and laughed. "What's the matter, Deak? You afraid of Jedi Master Wormie here?"

A sudden surge of rage jolted Luke. _Wormie!_ Surely, after everything he'd been through, he deserved a better nickname that _that!_ Did Yoda know he'd once had a name like that? Did Obi-Wan? How would Leia, and Han, and especially his father react to that name? He wasn't that same young loser! _How dare you call me that?_ his mind raged.

And there, he realized, was the answer. No one in this cave version of Toshi Station had changed, _but he had!_ So instead of getting angry, Luke just let the anger seep out of his system. He even brought himself to give Camie a tight grin. "Deak, I'm sorry I frightened you. But I'm glad I came here. I'm glad I saw you all. I now know that it's true when they say you can't go home again..." He bowed out the door he'd come in...

And found himself in a dark room. He went to the window, and the scene looked familiar, somehow. It took him a moment to realize where it was; Cloud City. Glancing behind him, Luke found the room was some kind of guest bedroom. He heard voices approaching from beyond, and Luke did not want to be seen, so he dove under the bed before the door opened.

The voices were all too familiar. "Han, I can explain!" Leia's voice pleaded.

"How long have you known that Luke is really your brother, Leia?" Han asked angrily. Damn, Luke thought sadly, _I still haven't even told Han!_

"It's been a few months; since before we got you out of Jabba's Palace," Leia admitted.

"Tell me, Leia. If Luke wasn't your brother, would you be with him now?" Han asked.

There was a very thick silence. Luke was glad he didn't have to see anything, since his eyes were burning anyway. He felt there should be someone to blame here. But who? His parents? Obi-Wan and Yoda? Or himself? Who could he rage at, that their actions had caused him to _fall in love with his sister?_

One thing was very clear. There was no way he could go on like this. He _had_ to move on. At least Leia had Han to fall back on. Or did she? The door opened, and the new voice shocked him even more.

"Perhaps she would be with me instead," Obi-Wan announced. Luke had to squeeze his hands into tight fists. No, not his Jedi Master! Not with Leia! Luke had always thought that Leia just had this stupid temporary infatuation with Obi-Wan, not a love-affair!

"What are you doin' here, Kenobi?" Han growled.

"You should have stayed away, Solo. When you left Tatooine, we all thought it had been because you knew about Leia's and Luke's parentage. Apparently, my Padawan had not told you what he was supposed to."

_No, Master! Don't tell Han, not like this!_ Luke begged in silence, but it was futile. The words, _Darth Vader is their father,_ just hung in the air as if they had been spoken, thought technically, they had not been.

Luke saw, from under the bed, Han's boots as he stomped off. No words, just walk away. Obi-Wan and Leia settled on the bed. _No, I cannot remain here,_ Luke decided, slithering out of the bedroom while they were occupied. Luke's stomach was roiling, but he knew he could not interfere in this. Though he definitely wanted to, he couldn't. The dim light in the outer chamber showed very little, except that there was a deck outside the slider doors. Luke went out there, wanting the air desperately.

Gripping the railing, he peered down. Cloud City had no ground. Imagine if somebody actually jumped out their window; would they ever land anywhere? Surely Obi-Wan and Leia wouldn't notice if Luke jumped... And what a great answer to his problems, to just bow out gracefully. Then he wouldn't have to deal with his feelings about Leia, Obi-Wan, or his father anymore. _Yes, taking the long walk off the deck sounds like a really good idea._

Wait! What kind of thing was this? Luke had never been suicidal before! He'd _never_ be acting like this if it wasn't the Cave! He turned away from the ledge--

--only to see a gaunt man, dressed in flamboyant livery, bow before him. "Please, your Highness, follow me..."

Stupidly, Luke glanced around him, looking for Leia. She was the one always addressed that way, but she was nowhere around. In fact, that whole Cloud City apartment disappeared. The gaunt man had lamp-like eyes and teeth that glinted bright white but were filed to points. It occurred to Luke that the creepy man wasn't addressing himself. "You don't mean me, do you?" Luke asked finally.

"Your father, Emperor Vader, is awaiting your audience, your Highness. Please, come this way. He has been very eager to see you, and it is not wise to keep our illustrious Emperor waiting..." With that lingering pain in his stomach, Luke followed the man down a huge great hal, with stained glass cielings and dark stone walls. Like something out of a picture book on ancient historical buildings, Luke mused.

The illustrious Emperor Darth Vader sat in the same kind of seat his former master had, but he didn't fit so well in it. Vader had to fold his long legs up to the side to keep them out of the way. Luke was momentarily aware of his jealousy of his father's height. _Why couldn't he pass that on to me?_ Clearing his head of peevish thoughts, Luke approached and bowed. "Father, here I am. You wanted to see me?"

"Indeed, I did, my son. I understand you passed the Jedi Trials. I wanted to tell you that I..well, I can't really say I'm proud..but that I always knew, as did my former master did, that you had it in you," Vader began. Luke noted that Darth Vader's appearance didn't change all that much, aside from the touches of silver against the black that has been added to his suit, denoting that _something_ was different. "Well, aren't you going to congratulate me? I'm the Emperor."

Luke said, "Father, that has to be the absolute _worst_ thing you could have done for yourself. A controlling man like you given the keys to the kingdom! Have a care; no one is going to tolerate the dictatorship from you any more than they did from Palpatine!"

Vader stood up. "I'm not worried, my son. After all, I have the Jedi Order at my disposal, thanks to you."

"The Jedi Order are _not_ your servants, Father!" Luke corrected him.

"That's what you think, Luke. You three only survive on my good graces. I know you wanted this very badly, and I finally worked out a way where we could both get what we wish, my son. But know this; the Jedi of old had become virtual slaves of Darth Sidious before the Clone Wars ended. I saw this happen myself. I learned from him, very well, how to manipulate the Jedi. We all can co-exist, as long as they all realize that the Sith rule them, and always will. This way, the Balance of the Force can be maintained," Vader explained.

"That's only if _you_ remain a Sith lord, Father. Which I am determined to change! So that you are aware, I'm not through with you yet! Not by a long shot! May the Force with with you," Luke said, turning his back on Vader and quickly leaving. His fledgeling Jedi Order would not bow and scrape to his father! He'd make sure of it personally. He was no longer afraid of facing Vader; he knew his father better now, and he knew that his father secretly ached to stop this madnes but just didn't know how. Luke would show him...

So preoccupied with these thoughts was Luke that when he came out of the cave, and saw two lightsabers glowing upright in the darkness, at first, he didn't seem to register it.

"Step forward, Luke Skywalker," said Yoda's voice.

Luke did so, and then knelt before the old alien standing on the mossy rock. Yoda's lightsaber pointed over Luke's left shoulder. "By the will of the Force," he said, then moved the blade to hover over Luke's right shoulder, "We thee dub, Jedi Knight..." Luke thought he could almost hear the part Yoda omitted; _of the Republic..._

Obi-Wan's smile was at least as bright as his lightsaber. Luke glanced up at his now-former Jedi masters, and nodded with a smile of his own. "Thank you both for helping me. The Force is with us, I know this. But we have a lot of work to do."

"We leave for Endor first thing in the morning, Luke. Be ready to go," Obi-Wan advised.

"That's just the beginning of out work, my brothers..." Luke murmured as they all departed.


	20. Paths Taken

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 20: Paths Taken

Grand Admiral Thrawn blinked his solid red eyes, then resumed staring at the hologram before him. A number of years ago, the celebrated artist Burkel Jadly had disappeared. What Thrawn was examining so intently was Jadly's final masterpiece: Lord Vader's wall mural. Thrawn couldn't help but be impressed with the work, and it's presentation. It looked so _inviting._ Which of course, was it's dead giveaway.

Vader was trying to lure Jedi with that artwork.

Thrawn has always had the reputation of being an authority on art, especially interpretation. Vader, on the other hand, was not a known art collector. This was why Thrawn was certain that years ago, Vader had commissioned Jadly to create a scene of a grand old tree near a cave. While breathtaking to behold, especially with the fruit among the leaves that seemed to glow, this was hardly Jadly's usual subject matter. No, there was something about a tree and a cave that was significant to Jedi Knights. Thrawn was sorry now that he didn't get more of an opportunity to study the Jedi further, so he'd know for certain what those things might mean. Of course, Thrawn hadn't thought it all that important to know exactly what Vader was trying to tell the Jedi with the mural until he found out recently that a certain apartment on Corellia had been broken into. The perpetrators were rumored to be Jedi Adepts...

The Grand Admiral stared down at his blue-skinned hands. There was a puzzle here to be solved. Why, after all these years, did some Jedi finally break into the apartment? And if they were supposed to be lured there by whatever the art meant, why didn't Vader trap them? What was he up to?

Most likely, the Dark Lord was a traitor to the Empire now!

It was difficult to keep a cool head, but Thrawn knew he had to. Here he was, supervising the final stages of construction of a huge space station, certainly the most important project that the Empire had ever undertaken, and Darth Vader was _off_ somewhere, leaving the project wide open for imminent attack by the Rebel Alliance! It helped ease Thrawn's mind knowing that the Hammertong laser, at least, was fully operational. However, the lack of any action or communication from any of his superiors was making Thrawn fidgety, which was not his natural state of being.

It was almost understandable that Palpatine had not made it to Endor. The last time Thrawn had seen him, the Emperor looked drawn and tired, and somehow diminished. But for Vader to not be here either... Thrawn knew that Vader _should_ have been the one to supervise here. Just like the last time...when the old Death Star was destroyed.

Unless the answer was that the Emperor no longer trusted Vader.

In that case, Thrawn asked himself, what should his next move be? If Vader has Jedi Adepts chasing him, or working with him (unlikely, even Thrawn had to admit) who knew what would come next? All Thrawn knew was this; he had the galaxy's most powerful weapon in his grasp, and he'd be damned if he was going to just turn it over to Darth Vader, who it has been long established had no love for a weapon that could destroy planets. He wasn't going to be able to hesitate much longer; once he got a clear signal, Thrawn would have to make his move.

As he turned his red eyes back to the Jadly image, Thrawn knew he wouldn't have much longer to wait...

* * *

The Rebel Alliance Fleet, needless to say, welcomed Han Solo back with open arms. After all, General Calrissian had worked out a battle plan with General Madine and Admiral Ackbar on the best way to attack the Death Star. And while Han listened to the plan, he couldn't help but think back on Vader's unease about the situation with the Death Star...

"Solo, you look like you have a problem with the plan," Ackbar observed.

Han fidgeted. He knew Vader wanted the Death Star destroyed. But he wasn't too convinced that Vader cared what happened to the Alliance during or after the attack. "How recent it this intelligence on the construction stages of this thing, anyway?"

Lando frowned. "It's been a few months old, to tell the truth."

Madine spoke up. "So naturally, we have an intel team on the ground on the Endor moon, so we can be updated regularly."

"Yeah, that team being Chewie and Leia!" Han frowned even deeper.

"There will be more people soon. I have word that Luke Skywalker is headed there directly," Ackbar assured him.

"That's sure to help; he's going to have Kenobi with him. And, he mentioned there's another Jedi with them..." Lando added.

Ackbar's fishy jowls shped into a Calamari smile. "Yes. Jedi Master Yoda is with them. The Force really is with us that he still lives!"

"Well, until we know more, I think we should hold off on a large scale attack. Just send some of us ahead."

"That's part of the plan. We'll send _you_ over to join them, and then, you and the rest of the team can knock out the force shield generator on the moon..." Madine began.

"And then send the rest of the Fleet to blast it to oblivion? Sure, that'll work as long as the laser isn't operational. If it is though, the Imps will use us as target practice until we're completely wiped out!"

"Captain Solo, why are you so certain the laser _is_ operational? Do you have intel we haven't heard?" Madine frowned.

"Let's just put it this way. I suspect the Imps have been expecting this attack for months, ever since the Bothans picked up that computer with the plans. I _do_ happen to know one thing for absolute certain; Palpatine is _not_ aboard the Death Star," Han revealed.

Madine looked stunned. Ackbar stammered, "How do you know this?"

Han drew a deep breath. "I heard a bit of intercepted communication between Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn. And don't ask how that happened. Let's just say I've got my ears opened a bit wider than they used to be and leave it at that. Thrawn's been watching the Death Star all this time. I don't think the old man even made it there."

After a long silence, Ackbar murmured "I have a bad feeling about this." Han didn't even blink, even though Vader had said just about the same thing when he'd heard that Palpatine had gone AWOL.

Lando was angry. "We're _never_ going to get another chance like this! Han, is there anyway at all that you could be wrong?

"'Fraid not, ol' pal."

Madine began to pace. "Admiral Ackbar, General Calrissian is right. We must find some way to attack before another planet potentially is destroyed like Alderaan!"

Han glanced at each one, reading their thoughts. Each one thought of his homeworld, and it's potential as a target for the Death Star's destructive power. Then he found himself speaking before the thoughts were fully formed. "I think there's a way to do this without endangering the Fleet. But we're going to have to be able to smuggle some people onto the Death Star itself to do it. Which, of course, happens to be one of my specialties..."

All three of them turned their full attention to Han. "We're listening," Lando assured him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Darth Vader had rejoined the Imperial Fleet, just as his apprentice had rejoined the Rebel Alliance's. Aboard _Executor_ again, Vader seamlessly took the helm, thanks to the efficient work of his immediate subordinates. He was able to gain complete access to what information he lacked. None of it was good news however. Palpatine really was still on Coruscant. Thrawn really was put in charge of the Death Star project. But at least, Vader still had the Fleet...

While Palpatine was still alive, Vader could not risk being so bold as to order the Fleet to attack the construction site. That was why, after touching base with everyone, working out plans, deploying parts of the Fleet to strategic locations where they could immediately respond to a crisis (should there be one), Vader again departed, taking his TIE Interceptor. This time, he was on his way to Coruscant.

* * *

"My lord Emperor, Lord Vader has arrived."

"Very good. Send him up here." As his most trusted manservent bowed out, Palpatine summoned what small bit of strength he had left in his withered body. He could only sense his apprentice's Force Signature, a blazing sensation. He could sense no other. But, that did not mean that no one else was there. No, in Palpatine's experience with Anakin Skywalker, his light was like the sun compared to the mere candlelights that were other Force-Sensitives. It often blocked out others...

No matter. Palpatine's only hope was that Vader brought his son with him. He climbed to the edge of his bed, carefully stepped into his slippers, and shuffled to a special hidden niche in the wall near his bedside. It opened at his touch, and with shaking hands, he grasped his lightsaber. A grim determination crossed over Palpatine. He knew he would die. But he would die as a Sith.

He would see to it...

"Where is everybody?" Vader growled aloud as he walked through the great open doors of the Imperial Palace. A clearing throat cut through the near silence of the Grand Hall, and Vader glared up to see Palpatine's obnoxious manservant. A pale thin ghoul of a man, he would soon be nothing but a bad memory, Vader promised himself...

"His lord Emperor wished for them to leave. Since you finally deigned to come back, I'll take you upstairs," the manservant sniffed. Vader seethed as he followed the turd through the public, then the semi-private areas of the Palace.

"Why aren't we going to the throne room?" Vader asked. "Why are we going to Palpatine's private chambers?"

"You'll soon see, and you'll regret ever having traipsed off to that group of religious fanatics!" the ghostlike manservant wailed.

"What? I haven't been with those B'Omarr monks all this while!" Vader argued.

"Whatever, Vader. Well, there you are. I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the way," he snapped as he gestured to the huge wooden doors that closed off Palpatine from the rest of the galaxy. Vader searched out the place with the Force. Something was definitely not right.

Vader opened the doors. He saw Palpatine's huge circular bed in the middle of the room, but it seemed unmade, and the Emperor wasn't in there. Puzzled, Vader took a step inside, until, at the last second, he sensed his mistake. Darth Sidious stood just on the other side of the door, lightsaber in hand, ready to duel!

Very quickly, Vader's own lightsaber was activated, and Vader used the Force again to gain some sort of insight about Sidious' state. It wasn't at all good. "What is this?" Vader asked, bewildered at Sidious' appearance. He'd never looked worse, not even the moment after he survived Mace Windu's attack on him.

"What does it look like to you? Death?" Sidious taunted as he raised the lightsaber higher. "It should look like death, because that's what it is!" The lightsaber bore down on Vader, and Vader was forced to block it with his own. In a matter of seconds, Vader used the Force to bind Sidious and pin him to the wall. "Let me go, damn you! Let me have a little dignity in the short time I have left!"

"Not until you tell me what you could possibly be thinking by attacking me?" Vader demanded.

"Hmph! Did you bring your son?" Sidious asked.

"No! I didn't bring Luke here with me," Vader answered, even more puzzled. "Why would you want Luke here with you...like this?"

Sidious nearly couldn't beleive what he was hearing. "Vader! Never once have you disobeyed me like this. How could you _not_ bring him here? Now, all is lost..."

Sidious was making less sense to Vader with each passing moment. "Master, Luke would not make good Sith material, if that is what you're thinking to do. He has no wish to join me. And he'd have even less wish to join you, if that was your intention. My apprentice and I had discussed the matter at length..." Vader started to say.

_"What did you just say?"_ Sidious gasped.

"I just said that Luke has no wish..."

_"No! After that!"_ Sidious demanded in between gasps.

"Oh...I...never mind, forget I said it..." Vader winced. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Here the man's dying, and all I do is aggravate him with the news that I've got an apprentice!_ Vader thought furiously. "Just don't worry about it!"

"No! _You have an apprentice!_ Tell me the truth, Vader!" Sidious hissed.

Vader released Sidious slowly, placing his slippered feet on the carpeting with caution. "I, alright, yes, I have an apprentice after all," Vader admitted.

Sidious' yellow eyes widened, and an odd fanatical light shone in them. "Where is your apprentice, Vader?"

"I'm not letting him within twenty parsecs of you!" Vader warned.

Sidious laughed in a choppy manner. "You are wise, not to bring him here. Is he skilled in using the Force?"

"In his own fashion. He's a Wilder."

Sidious seemed very pleased by all this. Vader was puzzled. Surely Sidious must have known that Vader was coming, now, to kill him. Why was he so happy? He watched his Sith master shuffle back to his bed, with barely enough strength left to get back in. Vader shut his lightsaber off and caught Sidious under his scrawny arm to keep him from falling. Then, Sidious looked up, trying to see into Vader's helmet, into his eyes, but Vader didn't miss the look. Those yellow eyes pleaded now.

For that one moment, only Vader's metallic breath made any sound at all. Sidious then said, "Oh, Vader. I did a terrible thing to you that day when I recovered you on Mustafar. I should not have left you alive, to suffer that way. Only now, as I bear terrible pain myself, do I understand how selfish I was. I wanted you as my apprentice so badly I was willing to betray everything decent in order to have you. I can only hope that now, you will show me the mercy I never showed you..."

Vader said nothing. His master _asked_ for death! If Sidious only knew what Vader was really capable of, would he ever ask for death? And if Vader _did_ heal Sidious, would it be the right thing? No wonder Obi-Wan called him confused; he was! As Vader seached the Force, he saw very plainly how sick Sidious had become. And if he put Sidious out of his misery, then he, Darth Vader, would finally become the master Sith!

There was nothing to be done for it except what he had to do... So, he turned his lightsaber back on. Sidious smiled, sighed with relief. "I knew I could count on you; I always have..."

"I resent this," Vader growled."

"I tried to duel you," Sidious countered weakly.

"Don't be a fool!" Vader said.

"Well, then don't be a sentimental sap, Vader! This is long overdue!"

Vader glared down at the shriveled form on the bed. _"I'm_ a 'sap?' Only you would have enough gall..."

"Well, if you don't like that, how about _'Fatherless Bastard?'_ That suits you too!" Sidious piped up.

"I know what you're trying to do. If you have enough strength to insult me, then I'm sure you could take one more swing at me with your lightsaber," Vader argued.

"If I had the strength, Vader, I'd kick you right in the ass!"

"Don't be an old twit! You'd break your toe..." Vader snorted.

"That would be the least of my ills, Vader. Now, if you would please get on with it," Sidious asked.

Vader shook his helmet. "Just like this?"

"Like I said before, I always knew I could count on you. Even my manservant Helkin doubted that you'd get here in time, and I said to him, _'Helkin, all in good time. Vader will not let me down.'_ I only ask that you not be so quick to strike him down once I'm gone; he can be of valuable use to you. And your new apprentice... What is he like?"

"He will make an even better Sith than I am," Vader told Sidious.

"Then I know the Legacy of the Sith shall continue, and I can die in peace. Now, Vader, before it's too late..."

Vader could sense the life force in Sidious fading. And his master would want to die under the blade of his apprentice... So Vader raised the lightsaber high. "May the Force be with you," he said finally.

"May the Force be with you too," Sidious answered, then watched as the lightsaber made a seemingly endless descent down...

* * *

"Hey, Han old buddy? You alright?" Lando asked. General Madine and Admiral Ackbar watched him with concern.

"Oh, yeah..." he answered, shaking himself a bit to break the moment. It was the weirdest thing he'd just felt. "Was there somethin' goin' on in this part of the sector. Any black holes or..."

Madine laughed. "No, none that I know of. But you know, I have noticed once or twice Luke Skywalker have sudden lapses like that. I hope neither of you were exposed to any sort of radioactive substance we're not aware of..."

Han shrugged Madine off, but secretly he knew what that sensation was: a disturbance in the Force. Oh, damn, what did Vader do?

* * *

Vader sat on the carpet beside the bed. He was shaking as the threads that held him and his master together snapped, one by painful one. He was a _terrible_ person! How could he do that to his master?

But then, once his system started to settle down, the room grew very silent. And the silence nearly drove Vader out of his mind. He forgot, for a moment, who he was. And this room, it was alien to him, unreal. _What was this glowing red blade in my hands?_

He turned around, pushed himself off the floor, and looked down into the bed. There was a very old man laying there. He was dead. And suddenly, Vader remembered that man. The first time he'd seen him was when he was standing on a landing platform, waiting. He was this rich fellow, a Senator. Yes, and he had this graying red hair and a clever glint in his eyes. They weren't yellow eyes back then. No, he was very presentable, very respectable. Later, people elected him Chancellor, and that was when he'd taken notice of Vader. _I was only nine years old. And you already knew you were going to take me away from the Jedi..._

"And so you did." Vader began to recall now what had been temporarily forgotten.

_I am Darth Vader. I just killed Darth Sidious. And now, I am FREE..._

* * *

_NOTE: Sorry, I thought this was going to be the last chapter, but it's not! I still have too many things that have to be addressed, and I couldn't do it all in this one chapter. Therefore, the will be one more chapter and then, honest, this story is done._


	21. Traitors Abound

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 21: Traitors Abound

Vader's moment of reflecting over the dead body of Palpatine, Darth Sidious, came to abrupt end as Helkin threw the chamber doors open. "So! Just as I thought. I knew you'd be the one to actually have the gall to end it for him..."

"If I had not, then his disease would have. Why didn't anyone tell me about his condition? I would have come straight back here!" Vader said harshly.

"Our late Emperor expressly forbade me to tell anyone, especially you, about his illness. I have never understood his reasoning, but I did not trouble him with questions!" Helkin's eyes darted to Palpatine's corpse. "He fought desperately for each day. He wanted to call you, but refused to do so, going on about some sort of thing or other that you were doing. So, you say you weren't with those useless monks? What _were_ you doing?"

Vader shook his head. "If Palpatine didn't trust you with the information, than why should I? I don't owe you any explanations."

"Never mind then! There are some things that need to be done, now that you've put him out of his misery..." Helkin answered with a clipped tone. Normally Vader would not tolerate that kind of talk from a creepy old servant of Palpatine's. But his late master _did_ say that Helkin would prove useful to him. The old manservant had been with Palpatine since he was sent to Coruscant to serve as Senator of Naboo all those years ago. "I will make sure that our late Emperor's final wishes are carried out, you can be certain of that, my lord _Emperor,"_ Helkin answered then bowed out of the room.

_My Lord Emperor!_ It was really true! _Anakin Skywalker, who was once so poor he didn't even own himself, was now the Emperor!_ Vader saw the opened compartment that he had always known hid Darth Sidious' lightsaber. He peered more carefully into it and saw that there was a small safe set further in. Vader reached in, and using the Force, opened it. Inside was a tiny hard drive.

"Files that I'm going to need, no doubt," Vader muttered softly. A sudden chill came over him. He was in danger, though he could not see an immediate threat. The Dark Side guided Vader out, reaching out, seeking, and finding, a traitor...

* * *

Grand Admiral Thrawn got a message that a transmission from Coruscant had reached him. Could it be the Emperor at last? He turned on the link; a hologram of a gaunt, strange looking little man appeared before him. "I am Helkin, our late Emperor's manservant. There isn't much time. I know that you have been entrusted to a certain _project_ that our late Emperor cared a great deal for, and wished to see to it's completion. But Darth Vader has ended his life, and shall surely end mine as soon as he knows you've been told about his treachery..."

_"Late Emperor?_ What is this?" Thrawn gasped. "Emperor Palpatine has been assassinated?"

"My late master knew that Vader might turn on him like this, and instructed me to warn you immediately of his death, and that your orders are to _protect the project...urgh!"_ Thrawn watched, transfixed, as the weird little man's eyes popped open, then rolled back. His image fell away, and was replaced by Darth Vader's. Thrawn saw the lightsaber in one hand, and he held a small portable hard drive in his other.

"Do you know what this means, Admiral? It means that _I_ am now the Emperor. And your orders are to evacuate the Death Star. I want every person off that station so that when the rest of the Imperial Fleet arrives, no one needs to get hurt."

_"Traitor!"_ Thrawn gasped, shutting off the comlink. His heart was pounding, and he knew this was what he'd been suspecting could happen. "I need a status report immediately," he barked over the comlink again, to Technical.

A tinny voice came over the comlink. "We have one more shipment shuttle coming in from dirtside any minute, Admiral."

"Fine, as soon as they get on board, make sure no more ships enter or leave the Endor system without my express permission," Thrawn told them.

"Yes sir!" Thrawn knew that he now had his sign that he'd been looking for. Vader wasn't nearly so subtle as Thrawn would have been, had the situation been turned around. Palpatine, the Galactic Emperor, was _dead!_ Vader had that little hard drive though. He _could_ legally order the Imperial Fleet to turn on the Death Star! Not to mention the Rebel Alliance looming in the background.

His only defense would be the Death Star's formidable laser. And he will not hesitate to use it on anyone in his way. No one, least of all Darth Vader, was going to destroy this station without a fight...

* * *

Princess Leia and Chewbacca led the thin line of rebel soldiers through the endless forest of the moon of Endor. She wanted them to be ready for Han's arrival, and then Luke's with the other Jedi. Her heart fluttered; Obi-Wan would be with them. All these long months, his absence made Leia's emotions a tempest. She found herself thinking back on that night on Tattoine, concentrating on that kiss, just to get her through each day. But the guilt she felt was poisoning that memory. She'd have to keep her distance from the Jedi master when he finally lands. Leia didn't want Chewie to notice.

But Chewbacca surely knew something was wrong. He'd told Leia (now that she was getting a better idea of what he says when he speaks) that Han leaving him behind again was a very bad sign. She couldn't help but agree. Where had he gone off to? Surely not to pay Jabba back! She'd even checked that improbable option before leaving for Endor, but no. Han Solo had left with the _Falcon_ in the middle of the night, giving everyone the slip, for reasons unknown. And until yesterday, no one had any idea of where he was. But Leia got a message that Han reappeared at the Rebel Alliance Fleet. Now, he was bringing a stolen Imperial Shuttle to Endor, with a very dangerous mission planned. The more Leia thought about it, the more distraught she became.

There was the possibility that everyone she loved could die very soon, and as she glared up at the Death Star in orbit over her head, she cursed it. First, she lost her homeworld, and her adoptive family, to the previous one. Now, she could lose her brother, and the men she loved, to this one!

And Han still didn't know about her true relationship to Luke, or to Darth Vader! No, this was going to be a very rough day...

* * *

Obi-Wan scouted ahead, then signalled to his fellow Jedi that all was clear. Luke carried Master Yoda on his back, as he'd done on Dagobah during his training days. "It sure was a good thing you learned that ship-cloaking trick during the Clone Wars, Master Yoda!" Luke said.

"Helped me escape from Kashyyyk after Order 66 was given, it did. Simple trick, but takes much strength in the Force, it does. Noticed something with the Force, I have."

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"More powerful than before, I have become," Yoda told him. This made Obi-Wan stop in his tracks.

"Now I thought that effect was only because of Vader's tinkering with the natural order of things by bringing me back. But you haven't been brought back from the dead!"

"Wasn't my father supposed to balance the Force, or something like that? Maybe he did it," Luke said. Both Obi-Wan and Yoda glared at him. "Well, wasn't he? I thought I had felt a disturbance in the Force, a little while ago."

"Felt it too, I did," Yoda admitted.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan's eyes sharpened. "Someone is coming!" he whispered.

"Oh, wait, it's..." Luke began.

"...Leia!" Obi-Wan finished, even as Luke dashed ahead. Obi-Wan wanted to follow, but he restrained himself. After all, he _still_ wasn't positive that what happened at the cave was real. The only way he'd know was when that _Sith_ Han Solo arrived.

"Dark thoughts linger in your mind, I see. Clear them away, you must, or suffer for it, the galaxy will," Yoda warned. Obi-Wan grit his teeth and remained silent. _Yoda must suspect something is amiss,_ Obi-Wan thought uncomfortably. _How did Anakin keep his love for Padmé secret so long, when I cannot keep my love for Leia quiet nearly as well?_

Luke hugged Leia and laughed with her. Obi-Wan shuffled around and turned his head away. Just seeing her again made him nearly mad with anguish. "Leia, come here! There's someone I want you to meet!" The twins scurried back to Yoda and Obi-Wan. And for one second, Obi-Wan caught a glimpse of Leia's deep dark eyes, saw things in them that would take years to tell, even in the one instant, then, she glanced back down at Yoda. "Master Yoda, this is Leia," Luke announced.

"Hm! Big, you have become! When last I saw you, smaller than me, you were!" Yoda teased in his venerable way. The words were like a lightsaber lodged into Obi-Wan's heart. _Sure, the last time Yoda saw Leia, she was a tiny baby, crying in Obi-Wan's arms!_

Fortunately for Obi-Wan, Yoda was distracted by Leia's companion. "Hey, Chewie? Remember Yoda?" Luke asked, cheerfully oblivious to Obi-Wan's or Leia's discomfort. Chewbacca roared happily at finally meeting Yoda again after all those years.

* * *

Han was nervous. Darth Vader had just contacted him, with perhaps the most important news he'd ever hear; that Palpatine was dead. That must have been what cause that disturbance before. He bet Luke had felt it too. And Kenobi too. This was going to be the first time he was in front of any certified Force Sensitives since that fight in the cave on Dagobah, and Vader assured him that the Sith trick would work like a charm. Han hoped so; he wasn't really ready to tell everyone he was Vader's Sith apprentice, and he wanted to knock the wind out of Kenobi's sails, should the Jedi Master wish to go blabbing about his experience in the cave. After all, what would Leia think of him? And Chewie? And Luke? Well, it wasn't like Obi-Wan was helpless, but still, Han was a Sith apprentice and everyone who knows about Sith knows that fight dirty and with revenge in mind...

But for now, first thing's first. Han began his approach to Endor. Over the transmittor, he heard _"Shuttle Tyberium, please transmit your access code..."_

* * *

It was Chewbacca who sensed it first. Then Luke's eyes widened. And then, Leia looked up from her talk with Yoda. _"Han!"_

And even though Han's broad smile was for all of them, he'd been hoping that Leia would reach him first, but instead it was Chewie, who nearly lifted him off the ground in his enthusiasm. "Hey, buddy, I'm sorry I left ya so long, honest. Won't happen again, I'm hopin' anyway," Han said, trying to hold himself up between Chewie's Wookiee arms and a vague poking with the Force that Han had been expecting since he arrived. Kenobi was searching for signs of Han's Force sensitivity; Vader had warned Han that he could expect that sort of treatment, even though it was considered rude by the old Jedi Order to do things like that.

When Chewie finally let go, Han was able to scoop Leia into his arms. He could, for the first time, sense the ripple of the Force through her, and Han almost let his shield down from the sensation of it. There was a new sort of closeness that he felt to her, now that he understood the Force better. Savoring the moment, he looked into Leia's eyes, and she said, "I missed you so much!"

"It's all for you Leia, you know that," he murmured, and she smiled, even though she didn't quite understand his cryptic statement. Dimly, Han could hear Chewie in the background, and Luke approaching, but his eyes were still on the princess. At least, until he caught the cold look coming from Kenobi's eyes. _Yeah, no doubt you're pretty pissed off right about now, Master Jedi,_ Han thought, _but that's just too bad, isn't it?_

Finally, when he could bear to let Leia go, Han eyed Luke. For the first time, Han realized what all the fuss about Luke was, since he now knew how to sense the Force. The rippling sensation was similar to Leia's, but because of extensive training, Luke's Force signature was much more defined. It was like a loud bell gong that reverberates over and over. _Imagine if Luke had ever learned how to hide that signature, like I've learned to hide mine,_ Han mused. "So, Kid, what's the story?" Han asked.

"I'm a Jedi Knight," Luke told him with a broad smile.

"Confirmed...certified? Really?" Han asked.

"Tested and conferred," Luke answered proudly. Chewie pulled Han over to Yoda. "Oh, yeah! Master Yoda, this is Han Solo. Han, this is Jedi Master Yoda."

Han had to blink several times; there was no way this creature less than a meter tall could instill such awe in Darth Vader of all people. The Jedi Master's dark green eyes seemed to be searching, and Han knew his gig might soon be up if he was around this Yoda fellow too long. There was no scamming this one! Finally, Han stammered, "Look, I'm sorry if I might seem a little surprised. I mean, Chewie had told me you were short, but I didn't pay much attention to that, seeing as how everybody's short to Chewie."

_"Han!"_ Luke gasped.

"Yeah I know, leave it to me to make an ass out of myself in front of a, what is it, nine-hundred year old Jedi Master? But I bet _you_ didn't know he was a Jedi Master when you first saw him, did you?" Han shot back at Luke, who began to pout a bit and grow red in the face. Through the Force, Han could sense the tremor of irritation from Luke. Little did the kid know how similar it was to his father's...

At least Yoda had a sense of humor about it. "Know young Jedi Skywalker well, you seem to."

"He means well," Han sighed, "but he gets a lot of stupid ideas into his head." Sensing Luke was about to say something in his own defense, Han added quickly, "Not to worry, because I've come up with perhaps the stupidest plan in recent memory, but it's our only way."

"I don't like the sound of this," Leia frowned.

"We've gotta smuggle some people onto the Death Star, a very small party, to deactivate the laser on that thing. I've got really recent intelligence that it's active. And I know the Rebel Fleet will not be able to face that thing with it active. I've gotta fly the shuttle in. We have room for one, maybe two more people aboard."

"What about if the Rebel Fleet gets here first? Once the force sheild generator is deactivated, Lando is going to be leading Rogue Squadron in there to destroy it!" Leia protested.

"Well, then we're going to have to time things real precisely, aren't we?" Han answered.

"Indeed. And we must make certain it cannot be reactivated again, or our trip up there will have been a waste of time," Obi-Wan pointed out.

At once Chewie roared that he was going, no matter what Han tried to do to talk him out of it. And then, Yoda said, "Go with you, I will. Take up little room, I do, heh, heh."

"True enough. Alright fine, we can cram one more of you on the shuttle, Maybe it had better be you, Kenobi," Han began.

"What about me? I can go!" Leia began to say.

Virtually everyone else was aghast at the suggestion. "No!" all three humans said instantly, and though Yoda didn't say much of anything, the way he sighed and dragged the end of his walking stick in the dirt said more than anything else. "Leia, the Rebellion needs you; you're one of the main leaders! You _know_ you can't go on this mission!" Luke reminded her.

"Oh, so I'm supposed to just stand here while one more of you goes off on a suicide mission!" Leia cried.

"Leia, Captain Solo is right; I should go with them. Luke can stay here and lead the attack with you on the power station," Obi-Wan told her.

Leia was about to protest, but Luke beat her to it. "No! I need to go. If you go with Master Yoda, then there will be no original Jedi left if the worst happens. I can't do this alone, I can't restore the Order alone! But if you had to, you could..."

"Absolutely not! I'm going with them, and that's the end of it," Obi-Wan asserted.

"Kid, don't do this; we don't have the time. Shuttle Tyberium is expected on the Death Star very soon. Thrawn's in a hurry, apparently. He _must_ smell the attack comin'."

With a strange assurance that Han had never seen in Luke before, he said, "This will only take a moment, Han. Master Obi-Wan, you and I will put down our lightsabers, and Han will pick one. Whoever's he picks will be going with him."

"Of all the ridiculous, half-assed ideas!" Obi-Wan exploded.

"Your lightsaber, please!" Luke asked, holding his hand out. When Obi-Wan looked like he was going to refuse, Luke added, very softly, "I _could_ Compel you to do it, but I'd rather not do that in front of Master Yoda. Don't look so surprised; if there's one thing I've learned from everyone is that it's the one holding all the cards that gets to make the rules."

Whether it was to save face, or whether he thought for certain that Han would pick his lightsaber, would be Obi-Wan's own knowledge. With a huff, he slapped his lightsaber into Luke's hand. With a nod, he went back to Leia and Han. "Now, Han, you'll have to pick one without looking. Like drawing straws."

"Kenobi's right, this is stupid!" Han groaned as he turned his back on Luke.

Luke turned the lightsabers around several times, then placed them on the ground. "Han come down here and pick one. Hurry," Luke instructed him.

With a stifled groan, Han stooped down and reached behind him. Oh, please let the lightsaber he just touched be Kenobi's! But with the satisfied tone coming from Luke as he said, "There! Fair and square!" Han knew he'd blown it.

"Leia, I'm sorry!" Han said sadly.

"It's not your fault, Han. Please, keep Luke safe," she asked him. Han stood back up, hugged Leia's trembling form close.

"We'll be fine, Leia, don't worry!" Luke told her, but that didn't look like it comforted her much as she left Han's arms to cling to Luke.

"I can't lose any of you to that thing like I did my homeworld!" Leia sobbed.

"Leia! The Force is with us! The first Death Star didn't claim my life or Han's, and this one won't either! We just have to make sure it can't claim any more planets like it did Alderaan! May the Force be with you! I love you," Luke told her as he gently pushed her back.

Han kept his eye on Leia and that snake Kenobi as long as he could, regretting the situation most bitterly as he led Luke, Yoda and Chewie to the waiting shuttle.


	22. Come What May

Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 22: Come What May

Shuttle _Tyberium_ landed in the hangar bay of the huge space station. For effect, Han, dressed in Imperial uniform, saluted when he strode down the landing platform. Even without Vader's help, Han had plenty of confidence when it came to Imperial procedure. The id card that they scanned was a first rate fake. "Officer Draygo, we'll get this cargo out of here for you now; it looks like you've got quite a schedule to keep. The computer is showing you headed for the base on Gall next...oh, wait a minute..."

Han was able to keep all fear out of his voice as he responded, "What?"

"I apologize, but you're not going to be able to leave this station," the deck officer told him.

"Is there a problem?" Han asked, keeping his sheild up, but sorely tempted to try just one little tiny Mind Trick...

"It appears that the Death Star is under a lockdown. Frankly, I don't understand it either. But just between you and me, Officer Draygo, GA Thrawn's been acting, well, a bit weird. In fact, nothing about the last couple of months has been what you'd call normal. Lord Vader has not even made an appearance here yet (not that any of us really mind that)," the deck officer chatted away.

"I know what you mean. But it looks, to me anyway, that you're all just about finished here," Han commented as casually as he could.

"Between you and me, I think we _are_ all finished. Completely finished, if you get my meaning."

"Really?"

"We worked our asses off, but yeah, I think we're ready for that Rebel Fleet attack that everyone keeps warning us is on it's way."

"Well, that's a surprise. Need help getting this stuff out? It's mostly food, I think," Han asked helpfully.

"Sure, let's get this started, then we can go to the comissary," the deck officer suggested. Two stormtroopers climbed aboard _Tyberium,_ then the deck officer. Han was about to follow when suddenly, he heard the deck officer yell, "What the hell is this...alien?"

Han peeked up into _Tyberium's_ cargo hold. Nestled between stacks of cartons was Master Yoda, with a strange little grin on his aged green face. The stormtroopers raised their rifles, but never got to fire a shot. Han's jaw dropped as he watched Yoda's lightsaber materialize faster than instantly. Luke's appeared only a half-second later, eliminating all three Imps effortlessly. Even the chatty deck officer.

"Good work, guys. Now, to keep Thrawn from sending anyone else down here..." Han said as he went to the deck officer's computer and keyed in a codeword. Just then, the communicator crackled alive.

"Has that last shuttle boarded?" Han glanced at Luke, mouthed the word _Thrawn,_ then turned back to the computer console.

"Yes, Admiral. Shuttle _Tyberium_ has just unloaded its supplies. He's requesting permission to leave the facility..."

"Permission denied. There are to be no more shuttles either to or from this station. We are now under a lockdown."

"Yes, sir." Han sighed when he signed off. Looked like part one of Han's desperate plan to shut the Death Star's laser down was successful. But now...with the lockdown, they might have a real hard time getting out of here. He should have known it was too easy.

"Hey, what's that sound?" Luke asked, surely talking about the loud banging sounds coming from the shifting shields that surrounded the Death Star's immense hull.

"They're locking down. I'm telling you, it's a miracle that Thrawn even let us aboard. If we had messed around even another five minutes thanks to your stubbornness, we'd have been screwed, Luke!" Han snapped.

"I'm sorry, Han, but it's for the best," Luke sighed. Han nearly shouted that the kid sounded just like his father, but he didn't dare. "Why are you so upset? At least Leia isn't up here!"

"No, of course you're right about that, but frankly, I'm not too crazy about her being down there with Kenobi either," Han grunted as he led the small party to an elevator. Han had the holographic map of the Death Star on his comlink, the plans the Bothans had gotten from the Empire. Of course, Han had also studied the Death Star plans that Vader had given him, and they were committed to memory, so the map was really more for show than anything else.

"Why, Obi-Wan will protect Leia from anything that comes her way!" Luke protested.

"Yeah? He gonna protect her from himself?" Han shot back. The elevator door shut, and Han punched a down button.

"A Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi is! To uphold the Jedi Code, he will always commit himself!" Yoda countered.

"With all due respect, Master Yoda, I think we'd better table this conversation until we get ourselves out of here."

"A wise decision, that is. Have a look at that map, I think I should," Yoda suggested.

"Yeah, here. You and Luke can memorize it. We need to get here..." Han pointed to a huge cylider-like object, with what seemed like thousands of tiny spikes protruding from it. "That, my friends, is the Hammertong laser. Pride of the Empire."

"Oh, joy. What are we going to do? Just push the 'off' button?" Luke joked.

"Actually, Luke, it _does_ have an off button. But I think, if we're going to have any hope of keeping some smart-ass Imp from coming down here and pressing the 'on' button again, we're going to have to do more damage," Han said.

"A lightsaber to those spikes should do the trick," Yoda pointed out.

"Too bad you don't have one, Han," Luke grinned.

Han grinned back, unable to keep his face so straight. "Let's split up when we get to Level 13. You and Yoda get started shaving this thing, and Chewie and I will press the 'off' button. We'd better not try to use comlinks to contact eachother, but let's try to meet back up here ASAP." Han suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Here we are..." Luke said eagerly as the elevator stopped at Level 13. "May the Force be with you, Han, Chewie."

"Yeah, you too." And with that, Luke and Yoda went one way, and Han and Chewie went the other.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had not led a battle in nearly 25 years, but that did not mean that assuming command over others didn't come easily back to him. Within five minutes, he had the rebel troops assembled, ready to attack the heavily guarded power station that generated the force sheild surrounding the Death Star.

"This station looks more completed than I'd been led to believe," he commented to Leia, who had crouched beside him behind a huge fallen tree, watching the station.

"The Death Star seemed to grow more and more since Chewie and I had arrived. The local indigenous species, called Ewoks, had told us that the ships coming to and from the hangar there was constantly busy," Leia told him.

"Not so busy right now. In fact, the place looks dead," Obi-Wan critiqued.

"That shuttle that Han and Luke took up there was the last one I've seen leave," Leia trailed off. "He still doesn't know...about Vader."

"Luke was supposed to be the one to tell him. My former Padawan was remiss. And now, he's beginning to show signs of his father's arrogance," Obi-Wan complained.

"Luke isn't capable of Vader's arrogance, or at least, I'd rather not think so," Leia frowned.

"He, like Anakin, has learned from me. There's no telling how many of my mistakes I'd made with your father I might have made with Luke too," Obi-Wan sighed sadly. Leia squeezed his hand, saying nothing. Suddenly, what had been flitting around in the air between them since he'd arrived on Endor threatened to ignite the very oxygen in the air. "Leia..." he breathed.

"Oh, sorry." She let go of his hand.

He took her hand back. "I feel so much less troubled when you are nearby, and yet, you must know there are a lot of complications."

"It's so difficult sometimes to be strong for everybody else. We've spent so long preparing for this attack, and now, I pray the Rebel Fleet doesn't get here in time," Leia confessed.

"The Jedi Order had always forbidden permenant attachments for this very reason, Leia. They had always reasoned that if you are afraid of losing someone you love, you hesitate to do what must be done. That little bit of hesitation can destroy all chance of success. And yet, the thought of Luke and Yoda up there, protected from destruction by a sheild that it's _our_ job to dismantle, causes me more distress than you know. Especially since it's hurting you so much."

A captain marched up to Obi-Wan's and Leia's hiding place. She surely must have noticed them holding hands, but instead merely said, "We've just gotten the signal; Admiral Ackbar and the Fleet have entered the Endor system."

"Then we begin the attack, Captain..." Obi-Wan said, but not without the nagging feeling that he was just signing the death warrants of Luke, Han, Chewie and Yoda. Princess Leia still held onto his hand, and he tightened his grip as the shooting began.

"Forgive me Lord Vader, I mean, my Lord Emperor, but I must say this is happening very fast," Admiral Piett said carefully to the large hologram of Darth Vader looming over him.

"Admiral, I am entrusting _Executor_ to you. The flagship will lead the attack on the station. I've already sent word to Grand Admiral Thrawn that he is to have the entire station evacuated by the time the Imperial Fleet arrives. I am only hopeful, at best, that he will obey my orders. I have it on very good authority that the Rebel Fleet might just beat us to Endor. If you see them, ignore them unless they engage you."

"You mean the Rebel Fleet that had assembled in the Sullust system? That is virtually every last Rebel in the galaxy aboard those ships!" Piett protested.

"Precisely. If the Hammertong laser has been activated, and Thrawn should decide to start shooting, why put the Imperial Fleet in his way?" Vader reasoned.

"Do you really think that Thrawn will fire on _Imperial_ ships?" Piett asked in a quiet, shocked voice.

"I am almost certain of it. Because you see, Admiral, he will not be viewing the Imperial Fleet as Imperials, but as _my_ fleet. I have a feeling that he will not be recognizing me as Emperor," Vader told Piett.

"My lord Emperor, that would be treason! Surely Thrawn is not capable of it! You and he used to get along so well!" Piett gasped.

"I beleive he likes his laser better than he likes me," Vader quipped. Piett seemed a bit blanched. "At all costs, that station must be destroyed. Do what must be done, blow away anyone standing in your way, forget that some of your fellow officers may be aboard that station. Those are your orders, Admiral Piett."

Heavy-hearted, Peitt answered, "I copy, my lord Emperor."

Admiral Ackbar's ship was the first to find out the force sheild was still up. "Take evasive action! The shield is still up!" he boomed across the observation deck of his flagship.

One of Ackbar's immediate junior officers rushed up to him. "Our scopes detect another group of ships entering the system."

"Vader?" Ackbar gasped. What a great time for _him_ to show up!

"They are still too far away to get positive ids, but we must assume that _Executor_ will be among them."

"Keep me updated with regular reports on the situation...Yes?" Ackbar said, responding to another officer appraoching at top speed.

"Admiral, I've just gotten a confirmation--Emperor Palpatine has passed away earlier today," the officer reported. The shockwave could be heard and felt among the Calamari on the observation deck.

"How did you hear this?" Ackbar demanded.

"A few Bothans have confirmed that he is dead. One says it was a natural death, another alludes to possible assasination," he answered in an urgent murmur.

What timing! This news could tip the battle's scales wildly. If the other Rebel forces have learned this news, it could embolden them greatly--and make them take greater risks. And there was a question of succession, within the Imperial ranks, that is. No rebels will recognize any successor to Palpatine unless he or she was duly elected by the people. Dozens of _what ifs_ raced through his mind like drunken X-wings. But first things first...

"Regardless of anything else, we are to remember what we are here to accomplish today. As soon as that sheild is down..."

"Sir, the sheild _is_ down; and part of the Imperial Fleet has arrived. _Executor_ is among them. So far, they seem to be on standby," one last officer reported to Ackbar.

"Very well. General Calrissian and the Rogue Squadron will begin their attack!"

Thrawn saw the Imperial Fleet behind the Death Star, on the far side of the forest moon. He saw the Rebel Fleet in front of him. Surely they must be asking themselves why he hasn't sent a mega-dose of TIE fighters out to shoot down those Rogue fools who thought they were going to do another "Luke Skywalker" and destroy this Death Star with one shot. Well, he thought it was high time they all found out.

With a smirk, Thrawn pressed the com button on his command console. "Fire at the Rebel Flagship when ready, Captain."

A voice sounded off through the corridors of the Death Star, "Activating primary ignition..." Everyone, including the four lone rebels scurrying though those corridors, seemed to stop for a moment and hold their breaths. Only those lone four rebels let out their breaths when the voice announced, "Ignition defective..."

_"What?"_ Thrawn exploded, which startled any Imperial officers around him. _"We just went through the relays this morning! How can this be?"_

"Admiral! There are unauthorized persons in corridor 414," one tech suddenly sputtered.

"Put them on the screen!" Thrawn commanded. The images of four individuals, two of them in traditional Jedi garb, one in Imperial uniform, and one _Wookiee_ appeared before him. "What are you waiting for! Activate the ray sheilds!"

Luke, Yoda and Chewie followed Han down the next corridor. Suddenly, the three of them were trapped by a white sheilding bubbled around them. "What's this?" Luke asked, taking out his lightsaber and trying to poke a hole in it. That only caused the bubble to shudder, but it never punctured.

"Ray shields, these are. Since the Clone Wars, these had not been in use," Yoda reported unhappily.

"Great, what made the Empire put these in their halls?" Han asked in a panic. He let his own sheild slip off. Yoda and Luke seemed to not notice.

"Probably me," Luke sighed.

"Great, how do I get you out?" Han asked. He glanced up, saw the control for the sheild up above their heads, and tried to fire off a shot. It riccocheted back down, blasting a hole in the black floor.

"Deactivated by central control, the ray sheilds must be," Yoda told him.

"Fine, don't worry, I'll get you out of there!" Han assured them, then ran off.

Back at the observation deck of the Death Star, Thrawn got the report that the two Jedi and the Wookiee have been captured, and that they made a positive id on the other rebel. "Han Solo, right?" Thrawn growled softly. "Well, we will send a squad out to catch him; at least he isn't Jedi material. But first, we have to solve this present situation. What is your report on the Hammertong?"

"It's damaged quite badly, sir. Not impossible to fix, but it will take time."

"How much time?" Thrawn asked calmly.

"Half the conduits have been hacked off with a laser sword type tool. It will take days to reattach every one of them," the officer answered uneasily.

"Very well. The sheild protecting this station has been deactivated by the rebels. They are sending their Rogue Squadron in. We have no laser to fight back with."

_"Executor_ and the rest of our Fleet is here, sir! They will protect us!"

"No, they won't, they will only mop up if the Rebels flub this attack. No, there is only one way; we must order a retreat."

"A retreat? But we never got any orders from the Emperor," the officer stammered.

"And you won't. The Emperor is dead. Darth Vader killed him earlier this morning. No, we need to leave here at once."

"We'll start evacuation procedures," the officer nodded, seemingly too stunned to do anything else except what comes automatically.

_"Evacuate?_ Not a chance! We are taking the Death Star out of here! Prepare to make the jump to hyperspace. I've programmed in a destination; it's outside Imperial space. Do it now, Captain!" Too spooked to refuse, the officer gave the stunning order to the central control.

As Han raced through one corridor after another, he felt the shifting under his feet. "No, it can't be!" he gasped aloud. To hell with keeping his Force-sensitivity a secret! He took out the lightsaber, held it ready to ignite, and then, trying to keep calm, he made contact with Vader...

Once the small power station generating the force-sheild around the Death Star had been destroyed, there was little Leia could do except watch the Death Star above her. All she could be grateful for is that the Death Star hadn't fired on anyone yet.

"Princess Leia, I've just gotten some news from the flagship. Palpatine is dead," Obi-Wan told her.

At last! A bit of great news! "Obi-Wan! That means Luke isn't in danger anymore! And it means that the Rebel Alliance will be able to sweep in and take control...what?"

"What's going on up there? The Death Star is _moving!"_ Obi-Wan gasped. Abot two second passed, and the Death Star just disappeared! Leia screamed. Obi-Wan knew in an instant why; she could sense, as he could, that Luke, Yoda, Han and Chewbacca never made it off that station before Thrawn took off. His stunned helplessness was interrupted by a beeping. He pulled his comlink out, the one that Vader had given him with his private line, all those months ago.

With dread, he answered it. "Obi-Wan. I know what's happened to my son and his companions aboard the Death Star. I want my daughter here on Coruscant, immediately."

"You apprentice is with them, you know. I'm sure that's how you found out so quickly. Are they alive, at least?"

"For the moment. Obi-Wan, please, bring Leia here," Vader answered, sounding more shaken than Obi-Wan had ever heard him.

"Anakin? Luke will be alright. Master Yoda is with him, as is your apprentice. All of them are clever, and their mission must have been successful."

"For the moment. Luke, Yoda and Chewbacca are captured. Thrawn has committed mutiny, and he's going to act like a man backed into a corner. He's going to work night and day to get that laser back online, and once he does that... _Now, the only one we can depend on to get them out of there is my apprentice."_

Obi-Wan swallowed, signed off and glanced at Princess Leia, who was shaking with rage and grief and comletely oblivious to anything around her. Yes, the fate of the galaxy was now resting on Han Solo's abilities in the Force. A mere Sith fledgeling. _May the force be with them all..._

_This is the conclusion of _Legacy of the Sith. _The sequel story, _Legacy of the Jedi, _will pick right up where this left off, so keep an eye out for it!_


End file.
